Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson comes to Alaska today for UAF appearance

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 14, 2026 –  Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s newest member and one of its most outspoken radical leftists, will appear Tuesday evening at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for a free public conversation that has already drawn overwhelming interest.

The event, hosted by retired Alaska broadcaster Robert Hannon, begins at 7 pm in the Davis Concert Hall on the UAF campus. Tickets for the live event were fully reserved weeks ago, and the university has closed its waitlist after it reached capacity. UAF will stream the discussion to overflow viewing locations on campus, and a recording will later be posted online.

Jackson, who joined the Supreme Court in 2022 after being nominated by President Joe Biden to replace Stephen Breyer, was confirmed by the US Senate on a 53-47 vote. Alaska’s two senators split on her confirmation: Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted in favor, joining all Democrats and two other Republicans, while Sen. Dan Sullivan voted against her nomination.

Since taking her seat on the Court, Jackson has become one of the leading voices of the Court’s partisan leftist bloc, frequently writing forceful dissents.

Among her most prominent positions:

• In the 2023 affirmative action cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina, Jackson argued that universities should be permitted to consider race as one factor in admissions to address racial inequality. The Court’s conservative majority ruled such policies unconstitutional.
• In the 2024 presidential immunity case involving Donald Trump, Jackson joined the dissent and warned that granting broad immunity for official presidential acts posed a serious threat to accountability.
• In labor disputes, Jackson has consistently favored protections for unions. In Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters, she argued that employers should have less ability to sue unions for economic losses resulting from strikes.
• She has also joined opinions favoring stronger enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, including recent Louisiana redistricting litigation involving majority-Black congressional districts.
• Jackson has generally voted with the Court’s liberal wing in environmental cases and disputes involving federal authority affecting Native American tribes and tribal interests.

Her writing style has often been more pointed than that of some of her liberal colleagues, producing dissents that have generated both praise and criticism across the political spectrum.

Jackson’s visit comes at a time when the Supreme Court itself remains under intense public scrutiny following several closely divided rulings on executive authority, elections, religious liberty, gun rights, affirmative action, and administrative power.

The appearance is part of UAF’s Summer Sessions & Lifelong Learning program and is presented as a public conversation rather than a lecture. According to the university, attendees were required to preregister using government-issued identification, registrations are non-transferable, and no standby line is available. Doors open at 5:30 pm.