Ketanji Brown Jackson vows to defend US constitution in opening remarks

• Supreme court contender undergoes first day of hearings
• Jackson would become first Black woman in court's history
• US politics - live coverage

Ketanji Brown Jackson promised to defend the US constitution and what she called the grand experiment of American democracy" in her opening remarks to the Senate confirmation hearings that could see her become the first Black woman to sit on the US supreme court since in its 233 years of existence.

Jackson, 51, addressed the Senate judiciary committee on Monday at the start of four days of potentially bruising partisan wrangling over her nomination. She struck a conciliatory tone, stressing her ideological neutrality.