Reversal Rates Imperfect Tool for Judging Supreme Court Nominees

Two reported front-runners to become the first Black woman Supreme Court justice have been trial-court judges for most or all of their careers on the bench, raising questions of how to evaluate their rulings.

District-court reversal rates arose during confirmation hearings for one of the top contenders, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was elevated to the D.C. Circuit last year from the federal district court in Washington, and is likely to be a talking point should she or South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs be selected to replace the retiring Stephen Breyer.

Progressive group Alliance for Justice says Jackson’s ...