Ketanji Brown Jackson Touts Political Neutrality During Sit-Down With … Michelle Obama

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she carefully chooses which public appearances she makes to avoid the appearance of political bias while on former first lady Michelle Obama’s podcast.

Jackson appeared on the former first lady’s podcast, “IMO,” co-hosted with Craig Robinson, on Wednesday to discuss the justice’s backstory and career before the topic shifted to projecting impartiality. (RELATED: Obama Granted Bill Gates Top Secret Clearance At Energy Department)

“You also have to watch your exposure to things so that there isn’t a bias,” Obama asked. “What do you have to be careful about, and how are you dealing with the potential conflicts as you do stay above board?”

Jackson said this is something she’s been really focusing on, explaining that there are court employees in her legal and public information offices who are tasked with vetting speaking invitations to ensure there are no ethical conflicts and that an event is not a fundraiser.

Ketanji Brown Jackson stresses the importance of avoiding even the appearance of partiality while appearing on Michelle Obama's podcast…. pic.twitter.com/3YWbfJAAuA

“You know, there are lots of limits on what judges can do, and I try to be very, very mindful and scrupulous with respect to that because, as you say, our obligation is to be unbiased in our approach,” Jackson said on Obama’s podcast. “And so you have to then navigate all the sources that could make for an appearance of partiality, which you want to avoid.”

Jackson said it’s also hard to engage with the news media due to time constraints, but she said general media sources are made available to her and that social media is full of unreliable information.

“And the hardest part for judges is that we really cannot participate,” Jackson said.

Obama agreed before joking that staying away from social media probably saved the justice some brain cells that she would need for writing her opinions.