Jackson's Supreme Court debut was self-assured and forceful, leaving a lasting impression.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made a powerful impression on the United States Supreme Court in December, during a heated oral argument between free speech protections for businesses and LGBT rights. She had just been appointed to the top U.S. juridical body two months prior, and she was already raising the most memorable questions of the day.

Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, posed a slippery slope hypothetical to Lorie Smith's attorney. Smith is a Christian web designer from Colorado, and she is seeking the right to refuse to design websites for same-sex marriages. Jackson suggested that a win for Smith could potentially lead to a professional photographer excluding Black children from a nostalgic Christmas photo with Santa Claus, styled after the 1940s. This was a time of racial segregation in parts of the United States.

Kristen Waggoner, Smith's attorney, responded that there were indeed difficult lines to draw in this case, and that this scenario might be an "edge case."

In the months since then, Justice Jackson has earned a reputation for being an assertive and independent presence on the court. Legal scholar Adam Feldman has noted that she has spoken more during oral arguments than any of the other current justices during their first terms. Terry Maroney, a Vanderbilt Law School professor who studies judicial decision-making and behavior, said that Jackson has "shown up from day one," and isn't afraid to ask tough questions and make uncomfortable hypotheticals, even if it causes some discomfort.

The Supreme Court is expected to make more rulings on Thursday, including the fate of race-conscious university student admissions policies and Smith's case. The addition of Justice Jackson to the court did not change the ideological make-up of the bench, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority. Despite this, she has already demonstrated an independent streak, joining the majority conservatives to reject race-based challenges to a federal voting rights law, and an adoption law governing Native American children.

Boston College constitutional law expert Kent Greenfield said that Jackson's presence on the bench has likely helped shape these decisions by bringing a different life experience to the table. He noted that she is "a person of heft, a person of high intellect and she's not being quiet." Jackson also posed a powerful question during a case challenging affirmative action policies in collegiate admissions: barring any consideration of race could prevent a student who descends from slaves from having his family history honored and credited, "because his story is in many ways bound up with his race and with the race of his ancestors."

As the first former public defender ever to serve on the Supreme Court, Jackson has distinguished herself in her handling of criminal justice matters. She has authored seven pro-defendant dissenting opinions this term in argued cases, appeal denials and emergency applications. Roman Martinez, a former law clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, said that Jackson has been "very active and extremely prepared" on the bench. He also noted that she has shown an independent streak, willing to break from the more liberal wing of the court and articulate her own views in solo opinions or by teaming up with conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has already made a powerful impact on the Supreme Court in her short time there, and it is clear that she will be an influential force for years to come.

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