Supreme Court justice to step down

After more than 27 years, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will step down at the end of the current term. This resignation is not a surprise, as members of the Democratic Party have been pressuring him to do so while they still control the Senate. Breyer is currently one of three remaining liberal justices, and his timely retirement allows President Joe Biden to make his first Supreme Court nomination. 

Justice Stephen Breyer was known for some of his more memorable hypotheticals. During an interview with Associated Press in 2008, Justice Breyer said, “The point is to try to focus on a matter that is worrying to me, sometimes it’s easier to do that with an example.” Some examples include phrases such as “Grandma loves robocalls” while talking about the ability to sue telemarketers for calling people. While he loved his hypotheticals, he understood that he did overuse them from time to time. While talking about a false advertisement case, he referred to an ice cream parlor using chocolate sauce being “poisoned sauce,” and he went on to say, “I’m sort of sorry I used that hypothetical” to which Justice Antonin Scalia replied, “I am, too, because I’m sick of it.” Outside of hypotheticals, Justice Breyer was known for racial and gender equality and LGBTQ rights. 

When one justice leaves, there has to be a new one appointed, so who could be Biden’s first pick? During his time running for the presidency, Biden promised to appoint the first black woman to the court, and on Wednesday the White House said the President stands by that commitment. There has been heavy reactions on both sides of the aisle about Biden’s potential pick, with Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D. SC) saying that this could bring attention to what the President has done to diversify the judiciary, including nominating eight black women to serve on circuit courts. Former President Donald Trump’s team sent out a fundraising email stating that President Biden would “appoint a liberal activist” to the court. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D. NY) said that “in the Senate, we want to be deliberate. We want to move quickly.” The Senate does not need to wait to confirm the president’s pick until Justice Breyer officially steps down. Once the president has his nomination, the confirmation hearings can begin.

Potential nominees could include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (US Court of Appeals), Leeondra Krugeer (California Supreme Court Justice), Candace Rae Jackson-Akiwumi (Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals), and Judge Eunice Cherly Lee (Federal Appeals Court, NY).

By Andrew Schwartz