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SCOTUS Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Who Has Roots In Miami-Dade, Gets Support From Top Law Enforcement Officials

March 8, 2022 / 11:35 AM EST / CBS Miami

WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) — In a letter to the U.S. Senate, Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has roots in South Florida, received support from dozens of the nation's top law enforcement officials.

"As members of the law enforcement community, we write in recognition of Judge Jackson's strong, effective and long-standing role in criminal justice issues," wrote 63 officials from around the country.

Jackson would be the first Black woman named to the nation's highest court.

Born in Washington D.C., Jackson was a star student at Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Pinecrest. During her time there, she was a star member of the debate team and student body president. She was also a Silver Knight Award nominee.

After graduating from Palmetto High, Jackson went on to Harvard.

President Joe Biden selected her to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered to be the nation's second most powerful court, in March 2021, and she was confirmed by the Senate in June.

Last month, President Biden nominated her to fill the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring. She began courting lawmakers last week, meeting privately with Republicans and Democrats. She will meet with more lawmakers this week.

It's unusual for police officials to engage so specifically in politics. Those named in the letter represent the nation's biggest and busiest police departments and courts. The signers to the letter addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee include former New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton and former NYPD official Ben Tucker, who just retired as the highest-ranking Black official in the nation's largest department.

They include current law enforcement officials like Sheriff Peter Koutoujian of Middlesex County, New Jersey; Oakland, California, Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong; Savannah, Georgia, Chief of Police Roy Minter; Beth McCann, district attorney in Denver; and Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia. Top policing academics also signed the letter.

The letter cites Jackson's history with law enforcement. Growing up in Miami, her uncle was the city's police chief and another uncle was a sex crimes detective. Her father was an attorney.

"Such direct familiarity with the experiences and challenges of law enforcement enriches her understanding of criminal justice issues," the letter states.

Jackson has also worked as a federal public defender and for the U.S. Sentencing Commission as well as the federal judiciary and has been praised by defense attorney groups.

Senate Democrats concerned about their narrow 50-50 majority — Vice President Kamala Harris breaks the tie — said the hearings will begin March 21. With a goal of an April confirmation, they are using Justice Amy Coney Barrett's quick confirmation ahead of the 2020 presidential election as a model for Jackson.

Jackson has also won the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest law enforcement labor organization in the United States, with more than 356,000 members. President Patrick Yoes said the union was "reassured" by her record and history and "should she be confirmed, she would approach her future cases with an open mind and treat issues related to law enforcement fairly and justly."