Rewriting the Script
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Rhetoric of Progressive Originalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22414802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katie L Gibson, Katie Gibson (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Rhetoric Society Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0277-3945 • E-ISSN: 1930-322X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02773945.2025.2598735 |
| OpenAlex | W7122622333 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
This study examines Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s distinctive voice of judicial resistance. An examination of key touchpoints over her first year on the US Supreme Court—her confirmation hearings, her questioning at oral argument in Merrill v. Milligan, and her dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, reveal how a rhetoric of progressive originalism animates her voice on the court. I argue that Justice Jackson challenges the traditional logics of conservative originalism by seizing historical interpretive ground, elevating the progressive aims of the Second Founding, and centering the ongoing struggle for race equality within the American ethos. Rhetorical analysis of this term provides key insight into Justice Jackson’s effort to rework the aims of originalism, confront traditions of epistemic violence in the law, and challenge the conservative doctrine of race-neutrality.
Economic Justice · Originalism · Rewriting · Rhetoric · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Law in Society and Culture · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
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| Highly cited | No |
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