Justice Stephen Breyer (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who turns 83 this 12 months, is a stalwart who probably might proceed to serve on the Supreme Court with distinction for a few years.
But if he doesn’t wish to danger having his seat go to somebody with an opposing judicial philosophy — which simply occurred to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and if he needs to offer President Biden one of the best alternative to decide on a successor who shares his values, Breyer ought to step down as quickly as attainable. …
[W]henever Breyer’s tenure ends, it will likely be an excellent loss for the courtroom and the nation. He is the writer of main opinions defending abortion rights, calling for an finish to the demise penalty and urging empowering the federal government with the flexibility to finish de facto faculty segregation. He has a realistic approach to judging that appears extra to real-world results than summary ideology. And there is no such thing as a dispute that he’s serving with integrity and dedication.
His successor might accomplish all of these issues, too. And the particular person in one of the best place to make sure that is Breyer himself.
— Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of Berkeley Law, calling on Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from the Supreme Court, in an op-ed printed just lately within the Washington Post. In 2014, Chemerinsky penned an op-ed calling on the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to step down from the excessive courtroom, however she didn’t, which led to the affirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett within the ultimate days of Donald Trump’s time as president.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, what place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be at liberty to email her with any ideas, questions, feedback, or critiques. You can comply with her on Twitter or join along with her on LinkedIn.
