The Supreme Court and the Limits of Descriptive Representation

Abstract

The appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in April 2022 was a meaningful sign of progress. After her confirmation, President Biden declared, “We’re going to look back and see this as a moment of real change in American history.” Not only is Justice Jackson the first Black woman to serve on the Court, but with her addition, the Court has greater gender and racial diversity than at any time in history. Four of the nine justices are women and a third are people of color. Although many groups have never been represented on its bench, today’s Court looks more like America than ever before. However, this descriptive representation comes at a time when the Court is scaling back the rights of women andminoritized groups. Last term, the Court declared that abortion is not a constitutionally protected right, undermined Native American sovereignty, permittedCongress to deny residents of Puerto Rico benefits available to other citizens, and limited opportunities for non-citizens to seek judicial