Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, has announced he will be stepping down from the Supreme Court in late June or early July once his successor has been nominated and confirmed. He has been on the court for almost 28 years – Breyer was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994 – making him one of the longest-serving jurists on the country’s highest judicial body. His resignation will give President Joe Biden the opportunity to nominate a liberal-leaning individual for the court. Biden has stated he intends to name an African American woman, which would be a first.
Quote: “You can have many different selection systems, but the bottom line has to be a system that, once the judge takes office, that judge will feel he or she is to decide the case without reference to the popular thing or the popular will of the moment.” | “There are loads of countries that have nice written constitutions like ours. But there aren’t loads of countries where they’re followed.”
Sources: Wikipedia (introduction), BrainyQuote (quotations)
Learn more about Justice Stephen Breyer from Wikipedia. ►
Watch “Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Announces Retirement, Reflects On Love Of Teaching” [4:24]. ►
Watch “President Biden and Supreme Court Justice Breyer speak about his retirement | full video” [20:44]. ►
Watch “Justice Breyer Announces Retirement from Supreme Court at White House” [2:39:00]. ►
Photo: ABC News
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