The US Supreme Court has ruled that it does not have the power to disqualify a sitting justice because of his or her age.
The “current supreme court justices” is a case that has been in the news recently. Stephen Breyer, who was appointed by President Clinton, lost to the Supreme Court. The decision of this case will have an impact on how future cases are handled in the United States.
Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court
JIM YOUNG/REUTERS/JIM YOUNG/REUTERS/JIM YOUNG/REUTERS/
The fact that Justice Stephen Breyer expects to retire at the conclusion of the current Supreme Court term has had no effect on the court’s power balance. However, it does represent the loss of a pragmatic liberal, with no certainty that his successor would follow in his footsteps in terms of moderation and ideals.
Justice Breyer, 83, was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994 and is the Court’s second-longest serving member behind Justice Clarence Thomas. He is an institutionalist, like many of his generation’s liberals, who believes in the Constitution’s promise of steady social development.
His jurisprudence reflects this, with him being the most pragmatic of the Court’s liberal group, which is presently down to three Justices. He is the least anti-business, advocating for a law-and-economics approach to antitrust on the First Circuit Court of Appeals and eventually the Supreme Court. While a vocal opponent of the death penalty, the Justice is noted for sympathizing with police enforcement on due-process problems, sometimes overturning originalist Justices Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch’s “right” to search and seize.
Not least by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Breyer’s openness to competing viewpoints will be felt in discussions. On the issues that split the Court and the public the most—those involving race, sex, religious liberty, and executive power—Justice Breyer has been a consistent vote for the politically progressive interpretation of the Constitution.
Over the last year, the Justice’s institutional inclination has been useful in defending the Court from political assaults from the left. Justice Breyer spoke against court-packing in an April address at Harvard Law School titled “The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics,” which was supported by progressives in Congress. He emphasized that an independent court is critical to peaceful self-government, and that it may be readily damaged by political meddling.
Hardened lefties like Brian Fallon, former communications director for Senator Chuck Schumer, whose court-packing organization Demand Justice bought for a truck with a “Breyer, Retire” banner to drive around Washington. When Justice Breyer refused to retire in 2021, he infuriated Mr. Fallon’s supporters even further, but the Justice is well aware that a Republican-controlled Senate in 2023 would make his successor’s confirmation much than difficult.
Mr. Biden’s campaign pledge to select a black woman to the Supreme Court is regrettable because it prioritizes race above credentials. Leondra Kruger of the California Supreme Court and Ketanji Jackson, whom Mr. Biden just promoted to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, are the two most-discussed candidates who fit Mr. Biden’s demographic litmus test.
Instead of Sonia Sotomayor, who appears more interested in flaming dissents than convincing colleagues and developing the law, the President would be prudent to appoint a liberal in the manner of Justices Breyer or Elena Kagan. Following the sugar high of activist adulation may lead to a political downturn, as the President’s first year has shown.
Justices Stephen Breyer and Amy Coney Barrett agree on one thing: the Supreme Court is in jeopardy. Images courtesy of Pool/AFP/Getty Images. Mark Kelly’s composite
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‘Stephen Breyer’s Loss to the Court’ appeared in the print edition on January 27, 2022.
Stephen Breyer’s Loss to the Supreme Court was a loss for the United States. The majority of justices on the court were in favor of Breyer, but he still lost. Reference: supreme court justices age.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the oldest Supreme Court justice?
A: Antonin Scalia was the eldest Supreme Court justice.
Which president nominated Stephen Breyer?
A: Stephen Breyer was nominated to the Supreme Court on April 15, 1994 by President Bill Clinton.
Has there ever been a Supreme Court justice removed from office?
A: The highest number of justices to be removed from office for misconduct was four, with the most recent event being in 2004.
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