News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Flickr Sharon Farmer sfphotoworks
Flickr Sharon Farmer sfphotoworks
Flickr Sharon Farmer sfphotoworks
Flickr Sharon Farmer sfphotoworks
World News

US Supreme Court’s oldest judge warns liberals not to make structural changes

by Press Association

Justice Stephen Breyer has said liberal advocates of big changes at the US Supreme Court, including expanding the number of justices, should think “long and hard” about what they are proposing.

The Supreme Court currently has a conservative majority and has the final word on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Politically driven change could diminish the trust Americans place in the court, Mr Breyer said in the prepared text of a long speech he gave remotely to Harvard Law School students, faculty and alumni.

His talk, Mr Breyer said, “seeks to make those whose initial instincts may favour important structural (or other similar institutional) changes, such as forms of ‘court-packing’, think long and hard before embodying those changes in law.”

Mr Breyer, a Harvard law alumnus who also taught at the school, is the court’s oldest justice at 82.

President Joe Biden’s election and Democrats’ paper-thin Senate majority have prompted talk that Mr Breyer, appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994, could soon retire, perhaps as early as the summer.

While he has said nothing publicly about his plans, the speech could be read as a kind of farewell address, filled with calls for the public to view the justices as more than “junior league politicians”.

He noted, for example, that despite the court’s conservative majority, the court in the past year refrained from getting involved in the 2020 election, delivered a victory to Louisiana abortion clinics and rejected former President Donald Trump’s effort to end legal protections for immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Mr Trump appointed three justices to the court, the last of whom, Amy Coney Barrett, replaced the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg in October.

Mr Breyer acknowledged that conservative views prevailed in other decisions.

“These considerations convince me that it is wrong to think of the Court as another political institution,” he said.

Mr Breyer’s speech was part of Harvard’s Scalia Lecture Series, named for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Mr Breyer and Mr Scalia were high-court colleagues for more than two decades.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate