Stephen Breyer

Justice Stephen Gerald Breyer (born August 15, 1938) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1994.

Related Topics:
August 15 - 1938 - U.S. Supreme Court - 1994

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Born in San Francisco, California, Breyer married Joanna Hare in 1967, and they have three children: Chloe, Nell, and Michael. Breyer graduated from Lowell High School and received an A.B. in Philosophy from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College of the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School.

Related Topics:
San Francisco, California - 1967 - Lowell High School - A.B. - Philosophy - Stanford University - Magdalen College - University of Oxford - Marshall Scholar - LL.B. - Harvard Law School

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He served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg during the 1964 Term, as a Special Assistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust, 1965-1967, as an Assistant Special Prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1973, as Special Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 1974-1975, and as Chief Counsel of the committee, 1979-1980.

Related Topics:
Law clerk - Arthur Goldberg - Assistant U.S. Attorney General - 1965 - 1967 - Watergate - 1973 - U.S. Senate - Judiciary Committee - 1974 - 1975 - 1979 - 1980

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He was an Assistant Professor, Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard Law School, 1967-1994, a Professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, 1977-1980, and a Visiting Professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia and at the University of Rome. At Harvard, Breyer was known as a leading expert on administrative law.

Related Topics:
1967 - 1994 - Harvard University - Kennedy School of Government - 1977 - 1980 - Sydney, Australia - University of Rome - Administrative law

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From 1980 to 1994, he served as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and as its Chief Judge from 1990 to 1994. He also served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States between 1990 and 1994, and the United States Sentencing Commission between 1985 and 1989. On the sentencing commission, Breyer played a key role in reforming federal criminal sentencing procedures, producing the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which were formulated to increase uniformity in sentences for criminal cases.

Related Topics:
1980 - 1994 - United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit - 1990 - Judicial Conference of the United States - United States Sentencing Commission - 1985 - 1989 - Federal Sentencing Guidelines

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In 1993 President Bill Clinton considered him for the seat which ultimately went to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Clinton soon nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left after the retirement of Harry Blackmun in 1994. Breyer was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in an 87 to 9 vote and took his seat August 3, 1994.

Related Topics:
1993 - President - Bill Clinton - Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Harry Blackmun - 1994 - U.S. Senate - August 3

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The junior Associate Justice on the Court is expected to take on duties such as opening and closing the door at private conference meetings and fetching coffee. http://www.law.virginia.edu/home2002/html/news/2004_spr/breyer.htm Breyer has remained the junior member for eleven years (the second-longest, or possibly longest, time the Court has remained unchanged in history), and will be the junior justice until Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement joins the court. Although Chief Justice Roberts is the newest member of the Court, the duties of the junior Justice never fall upon the Chief Justice, who is considered primus inter pares -first among equals.

Related Topics:
Sandra Day O'Connor - Primus inter pares

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On the bench, Breyer generally takes a pragmatic approach to constitutional issues, interested more in producing coherence and continuity in the law than in following doctrinal, historical or textual strictures. While somewhat moderate, Breyer most frequently sides with Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, generally acknowledged as being the "liberal" wing of the court. He has consistently voted in favor of abortion rights, which is one of the most controversial areas of the Supreme Court's docket. He has also urged that the Supreme Court cite international law in its decisions. However, Breyer is also deferential to the interests of law enforcement and urges that the Court be deferential to legislative judgments in its First Amendment rulings.

Related Topics:
Pragmatic - John Paul Stevens - David Souter - Ruth Bader Ginsburg - International law - First Amendment

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Breyer is well-known for his personal writing style, in which he never uses footnotes in his opinions. He feels that keeping all citations in the text results in better, more readable writing as he is not tempted to use footnotes to expond on irrelevant points.

Related Topics:
Footnotes - Citations

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