The Most Immediate Problem With Court-Packing? More Ketanji Brown Jacksons
By RedState Guest Editorial | 6:00 AM on June 26, 2026
Another day of big Supreme Court decisions means another solo dissent from junior Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, this time in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, as to the “straightforward question: whether an alien who seeks to enter the United States from Mexico ‘arrives in the United States’” (Alito).
As she once told a crowd at a book tour event: “I just feel that I have a wonderful opportunity to tell people in my opinions how I feel about the issues.”
With all due respect, we need more than just vibes and feelings from our justices when they opine on hot topics. Justice Jackson’s lack of situational awareness in declaring so is just one reason why her dissents can often not even muster support from fellow liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
Justice Jackson is quickly outpacing her liberal colleagues in authoring dissents. Since she joined the nation’s highest court in 2022, KBJ has racked up 33 authored dissents, compared to Justice Sotomayor’s 24 and Justice Kagan’s 17 dissents authored during the same time frame.
In particular, KBJ has been the lone “no” vote in several 8-1 decisions, signaling that her “feelings about the issues” put her at odds with the other justices, including the liberal wing of the Court.
But she’s also written seven solo dissents in 6-3 decisions, which means the feelings she insists upon sharing are not opinions to which her liberal colleagues wish to sign their names.
In today’s solo dissent, Justice Jackson argued that “the better course was to refrain from exercising certiorari jurisdiction in this case” about whether or not foreigners can claim to have “arrived in” the United States when they actually remain on the Mexican side of the Southern Border.
In fact, Justice Jackson’s dissents have now been negatively referenced in majority opinions and concurrences for their lack of thoughtfulness, understanding of the role of a justice, and overall judicial philosophy.
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https://redstate.com/redstate-guest-editorial/2026/06/26/the-most-immediate-problem-with-court-packing-more-ketanji-brown-jacksons-n2203735
