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What to know about Biden's Supreme Court nominees

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People view the Supreme Court building from behind security fencing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 21, 2021, after portions of an outer perimeter of fencing were removed overnight to allow public access. (Patrick Semansky)
(Patrick Semansky)

President Biden is considering who he’ll nominate to the Supreme court. She’ll make history in more ways than one. So who does the president have in mind?

The president is studying a short list of candidates to replace Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer.

"The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity, and that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court," the president said.

In picking a Black, female jurist, he’s fulfilling a long-standing promise.

But legal experts say having a Black woman — a highly-qualified Black woman — on the high court is about a lot more than representation.

“The power of the court to actually make laws that will affect our lives and that she is going to be a part of that power broker privilege, that's something that's essential for us to understand," Gloria Browne-Marshall said. "His is a long history, a long awaited appointment.”

Today, On Point: President Biden’s shortlist for the next Supreme Court justice.

Guests

Gloria Browne-Marshall, professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Author of She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power. (@GBrowneMarshall)

Renee Knake Jefferson, professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center. Author of Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court. (@reneeknake)

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Dan Coates, former Republican senator from Indiana and former director of National Intelligence. Coates guided two Bush nominees through the nomination process, one unsuccessfully and one successfully.

This program aired on February 21, 2022.

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