Article III of the Constitution establishes the Supreme Court and its powers. You’d think it slightly nonsensical for a justice of said court to quibble with that very Constitution. Ketanji Brown Jackson has never much cared for sense.
In a scathing dissent, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accuses her colleagues of viewing a case through the “distorted lens of pure textualism.” Textualism is a school of interpretation that approaches the law, including the Constitution, according to its plain meaning. A textualist asks: What would an ordinary person understand this law to mean? (RELATED: Pro-Mutilation Trans Attorney Smacked Down By Supreme Court)
Christ Almighty, textualism is the ENTIRE goddamn point of the Supreme Court, Justice Jackson.
Resign from SCOTUS and run for legislative office. (And please lose.)
Democrats are hopeless–the spoiled children of prosperity wrought by a market ecosystem they seek to destroy. https://t.co/JAgpC9JvoY
— Nan Hayworth, M.D. (@NanHayworth) June 23, 2025
“I have no quarrel with relying on common sense as a general matter,” Jackson claims in another dissent issued Friday, which also took aim at textualist interpretations. “But we should acknowledge that what counts as a ‘commonsense’ inference to the Justices on this Court may not be viewed as such by others.”
Jackson comes just short of accusing her fellow justices of having a vested interest in the outcome of the case, writing, “this case gives fodder to the unfortunate perception that moneyed interests enjoy an easier road to relief in this Court than ordinary citizens.” The case before the court, Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), concerned the energy company’s ability to challenge government mandates. Jackson expressed fear for the “reputational cost for this Court, which is already viewed by many as being overly sympathetic to corporate interests.”
Delivering the opinion of the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back against Jackson’s suggestion that “the Court does not apply standing doctrine ‘evenhandedly.’”
“A review of standing cases over the last few years disproves that suggestion,” he wrote.
Again, conservatives should be thankful Biden picked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson over Judge Michelle Childs.
With only 3 Democrat appointees, Childs would have done a far more effective job picking off 2 Republicans from time to time.
Jackson repels her Republican colleagues. https://t.co/cNIpLplOC7
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) June 23, 2025
In lieu of text, what approach does Jackson opt for?
“Looking to a statute’s purposes helps us to understand—not override— that statute’s text,” she writes in her June 20, 2025 dissent. “Too often, this Court closes its eyes to context, enactment history, and the legislature’s goals when assessing statutory meaning. I cannot abide that narrow-minded approach.” (RELATED: America’s Worst Supreme Court Justice Can’t Stand Colleagues’ Latest Decision)
Pursuing the spirit, not simply the letter, of the law is a worthy goal. But given Jackson’s track record, her objection to “textualism” is suspect. Not being able to define the word “woman” should be disqualifying for the office of kindergarten teacher, much less Supreme Court Justice. Where Jackson invokes “context,” some might read: “room to interpret the law to suit my own deranged political ends.”
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatalieIrene03
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