Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer retiring

But Justice Breyer's retirement gives President biden the chance to make his first nomination to the Supreme Court. And it comes at a time when the democrats have the slimmest of the slimmest control of the Senate where a new justice would have to be confirmed. And that's also just in advance of midterm elections where that that majority is very much in question. Briers retirement is not to take effect immediately so it won't have any effect at all on cases the court is currently hearing, he'll stay with the court through the end of the term. His retirement will become official upon the confirmation of his successor. Well Briar will turn 84 in August and he is the oldest justice on the court at the moment, But he's in very good health or so it seems he's he's fit, he exercises regularly. This isn't about his health, unlike say Justice Ginsburg, but like Justice Ginsburg Breyer has been under some pressure to retire since Barack Obama was president. And the Democrats last held the Senate under Obama's presidency in 2014. Supreme Court retirements are typically a mixture of personal and political injustices will tell you that they typically like to retire when the president in office is of the same part of the president who named them. It takes just a bare majority of the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court justice and indeed any judge now and that's because of a couple of rules changes that took place first when democrats controlled the Senate and they got rid of the filibuster for all judicial appointees and other appointments except for Supreme Court confirmations. And then when republicans controlled the Senate in the trump years mitch McConnell got rid of the filibuster and that allowed three trump appointees to be confirmed with with very slim majorities and Justice Breyer didn't retire last term and is deciding to retire. Now while the democrats still have control of the Senate, I think that's the key point that Biden should be able to name his successor without too much trouble. Mhm.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire, giving President Joe Biden a chance to nominate to the bench, a well-placed source familiar with the matter told CNN. Breyer, 83, a consistent liberal vote on the Supreme Court has served nearly three decades on the bench.Breyer is expected to stay on until the end of the term and a replacement is confirmed.Breyer's decision gives President Joe Biden his first opportunity to name a nominee to the Supreme Court. Although Biden's pick will not change the balance of the court, given that Breyer will almost certainly be replaced with a fellow liberal, the new nominee is expected to be much younger and could serve on the court for decades. The court currently has six conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents, and three liberals appointed by Democrats.Appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, Breyer has sought to focus the law on how it could work for the average citizen. He was no firebrand and was quick to say that the Supreme Court couldn't solve all of society's problems. He often stressed that the court shouldn't be seen as part of the political branches but recognized that certain opinions could be unpopular."It is wrong to think of the court as another political institution," Breyer told an audience at Harvard Law School in 2021. "It is doubly wrong to think of its members as junior league politicians.""If the public sees judges as 'politicians in robes,'" he warned, "its confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself, can only diminish, diminishing the court's power, including its power to act as a 'check' on the other branches."On the campaign trail, Biden vowed that if he were to get a vacancy he would fill it with an African American woman, which would represent a historic first for the high court. Potential candidates include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, who was confirmed last year to the powerful D.C.-based appellate court. She once served as a law clerk for Breyer, and also worked as an assistant federal public defender and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.Another possibility would be Justice Leondra Kruger, 45, who serves on the California Supreme Court and is a veteran of the U.S. Solicitor General's office. Members of Biden's team have previously stressed that they are seeking diversity for judicial appointments and that they are prepared to break from the norm and consider those whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders and civil rights and legal aid attorneys.The news comes as the court's conservative majority has flexed its muscles in a blockbuster term. The justices have already heard one case that could overturn Roe v. Wade and another that could expand gun rights. Recently, Breyer joined his liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in a bitter dissent when the conservative majority blocked Biden's vaccine mandate for large employers. Breyer also dissented last year when the court allowed a Texas six-week abortion ban to remain in effect. The law is the strictest in the nation and bars abortion before most women even know they are pregnant.

WASHINGTON —

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer plans to retire, giving President Joe Biden a chance to nominate to the bench, a well-placed source familiar with the matter told CNN.

Breyer, 83, a consistent liberal vote on the Supreme Court has served nearly three decades on the bench.

Breyer is expected to stay on until the end of the term and a replacement is confirmed.

Breyer's decision gives President Joe Biden his first opportunity to name a nominee to the Supreme Court. Although Biden's pick will not change the balance of the court, given that Breyer will almost certainly be replaced with a fellow liberal, the new nominee is expected to be much younger and could serve on the court for decades. The court currently has six conservative justices appointed by Republican presidents, and three liberals appointed by Democrats.

Appointed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, Breyer has sought to focus the law on how it could work for the average citizen. He was no firebrand and was quick to say that the Supreme Court couldn't solve all of society's problems. He often stressed that the court shouldn't be seen as part of the political branches but recognized that certain opinions could be unpopular.

"It is wrong to think of the court as another political institution," Breyer told an audience at Harvard Law School in 2021. "It is doubly wrong to think of its members as junior league politicians."

"If the public sees judges as 'politicians in robes,'" he warned, "its confidence in the courts, and in the rule of law itself, can only diminish, diminishing the court's power, including its power to act as a 'check' on the other branches."

On the campaign trail, Biden vowed that if he were to get a vacancy he would fill it with an African American woman, which would represent a historic first for the high court. Potential candidates include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 51, who was confirmed last year to the powerful D.C.-based appellate court. She once served as a law clerk for Breyer, and also worked as an assistant federal public defender and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Another possibility would be Justice Leondra Kruger, 45, who serves on the California Supreme Court and is a veteran of the U.S. Solicitor General's office. Members of Biden's team have previously stressed that they are seeking diversity for judicial appointments and that they are prepared to break from the norm and consider those whose legal experiences have been historically underrepresented on the federal bench, including those who are public defenders and civil rights and legal aid attorneys.

The news comes as the court's conservative majority has flexed its muscles in a blockbuster term. The justices have already heard one case that could overturn Roe v. Wade and another that could expand gun rights. Recently, Breyer joined his liberal colleagues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in a bitter dissent when the conservative majority blocked Biden's vaccine mandate for large employers. Breyer also dissented last year when the court allowed a Texas six-week abortion ban to remain in effect. The law is the strictest in the nation and bars abortion before most women even know they are pregnant.

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