Justice 'Gos Ta Roll': Selected Opinions of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's District Court Cases in Tort Law, Media Law, and Comparative Law

Abstract

Profiles of U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have proliferated since her announcement as a leading contender for the U.S. Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Breyer. Reviews of Jackson’s work as a jurist have focused almost exclusively on her opinions from the appellate bench. However, Judge Jackson’s deeper judicial record comprises eight years of service on the federal district bench for the District of Columbia. I surveyed the district court work of Judge Jackson to compile cases of interest to me, working at the intersection of tort law, media law, and comparative law—the latter, specifically, foreign sovereign immunity and forum non conveniens. Compiled here, these cases demonstrate Judge Jackson’s breadth of experience. And if they reveal anything about her judicial temperament, I conclude, it is that she has been thoughtful and careful, ill inclined to dismiss potentially meritorious claims that, otherwise, a busy and bureaucratically minded judge might dismiss with short shrift for justice.

Keywords: civil, court, District of Columbia, Ketanji Brown Jackson, judge, litigation, media law, sovereign immunity, torts

JEL Classification: K10, K13, K33, K40, K41