The name Patrick Jackson can be synonymous with his twin brother, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was a member of the House of Representatives during the time of former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Ketanji Brown Jackson is a lawyer and his husband is a doctor. We discuss his background, his early days as a lawyer and his connection to former House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband is a doctor
Ketanji Brown Jackson is the wife of a famous doctor, Dr. Patrick Graves Jackson. They have been married for more than two decades. The pair has two daughters, Leila and Talia.
Patrick and Ketanji met while attending Harvard University in the early 1990’s. They started dating as undergraduates. After graduating, they attended Harvard Medical School. As they began their careers, they both went to the same hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, for residency.
Patrick Jackson became a surgeon and has worked at the Pasquerilla Healthcare Center in Washington, D.C. He also is an associate professor at Georgetown. His practice involves gastrointestinal procedures such as cholecystectomy, abdominal wall reconstruction, and hernia repair.
During their marriage, Ketanji and Patrick have traveled extensively. They are both graduates of Miami Palmetto Senior High School and Harvard College. Both of their parents were natives of the Miami area. Their parents were teachers at segregated primary schools.
Patrick and Ketanji moved to Boston after college. Their first child, Talia, was born in 2001. Later, they were both employed at K&L Gates in Chicago. However, after 9/11, they joined the Maryland Army National Guard.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s parents grew up in the Jim Crow South
As the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson is a beacon of hope. She is an attorney who represents the values of equity and justice. Having spent her career fighting against excessive sentences, she has been successful at challenging the length of sex offenders’ sentences.
Despite her many accomplishments, Jackson is still a minority in the Senate. That is why President Biden pledged to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
Despite being born into the Jim Crow South, Ketanji Brown Jackson’s parents attended historically black colleges and universities. They both went on to earn law degrees.
The family moved to Miami after Jackson was born. Her grandparents had grade school educations. After high school, they attended a predominantly Black college.
When the Confederate flag appeared in the dormitory, the Black Students Association began protesting. They saw the flag as a message that they didn’t belong.
In the courtroom, Ketanji Brown Jackson is backed by an extraordinary support system. Both her husband and her parents have been by her side through the entire process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDBYlv9pEas
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s early days as a lawyer
Ketanji Brown Jackson has an extensive legal background. She was a federal public defender, clerked for a United States Supreme Court justice, and served on a U.S. Sentencing Commission that addresses sentencing disparities. During her time in these positions, she wrote extensively on issues surrounding criminal sentencing.
As a federal public defender, Jackson worked in the District of Columbia’s Office of the Federal Public Defender. In addition to her work as a litigator, she was a member of the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Defender Services, and served on the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section’s Sentencing Task Force.
In 1996, she was a member of the Harvard Law School Class of 1996. While attending law school, she clerked for Judge Bruce M. Selya ’58. Later, she worked as an associate with Miller Cassidy Larroca & Lewin. The firm later merged with Baker Botts.
Following her graduation from Harvard Law School, she returned to the U.S. Sentencing Commission as an assistant special counsel.
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s connection to former House Speaker Paul Ryan
Ketanji Brown Jackson is a lawyer and federal judge. She is currently the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. A former public defender, she has been a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2013.
In January of this year, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the Supreme Court. As a result, President Joe Biden tapped Jackson to fill the seat. The new justice will be sworn in at noon on June 30, 2022.
Before being appointed to the federal bench, Ketanji Brown Jackson clerked for Justice Breyer. She went to Harvard College and law school. After law school, she worked for Time magazine. Later, she became a public defender in the District of Columbia.
She is married to Patrick Jackson, a surgeon. Their daughter, Dana Little Jackson, is an attorney. They are also related to former House Speaker Paul Ryan and his wife, Janna. During the confirmation process, both of them testified for Jackson.