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In 2011, Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy called for two members of the liberals of the U.S. Supreme Court: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer Breyer) immediately retired and shocked the legal profession.
Kennedy said this was “the responsible thing they should do.” Kennedy argued in an article in The New Republic that the 70-something nominated by Bill Clinton should step down, so that Democratic President Barack Obama can then appoint young liberals to replace them for life on the nation’s Supreme Court.
Neither of them listened to the phone.Last year, Ginsberg died At 87, her seat was filled by Donald Trump, just a few days ago November presidential election With Amy Connie Barrett, break the balance The nine benches supported the conservatives 6-3.
Now, as Democrats enter the White House and control the Senate with a narrow advantage, Breyer, now 82, faces new requirements to step down after serving as a judge for nearly 27 years.
With the end of the Supreme Court’s term, he became the target of a fierce public pressure campaign, which posed a political challenge to President Joe Biden, as progressives worried about the conservative-dominated Supreme Court’s ruling on everything. Vote And gun to affirmative action and abortion.
“We have seen the tragic consequences of rolling the dice, and this cannot happen again,” said Tré Easton of the progressive group Battle Born Collective. “The Republican Party will not pretend that the court is an institution that has nothing to do with politics, and the left, progressives, and Democrats cannot pretend that it has nothing to do with politics.”
In the Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell (Mitch McConnell) said that if Biden’s party seizes control of the House of Lords in next year’s midterm elections, he will block Biden’s nomination. After that, these voices will be heard this week. Becomes louder. The justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the president but require confirmation by a simple majority in the Senate.
McConnell Famous rejection Merrick Garland, who succeeded Obama’s nomination, filled the vacancy caused by the death of conservative Antonin Scalia in 2016, laying the foundation for Trump’s choice of Neil Gorsuch.
McConnell’s latest remarks aroused the anger of progressives. Brian Fallon, executive director of the left-leaning group Demand Justice, said: “Anyone who still doubts whether Stephen Breyer’s non-retirement will end in disaster should pay attention to Mitch McConnell.”
Fallon’s team led a “Breyer Retire” campaign and initiated a Advertising campaign He rented a billboard truck and hovered around the court building, which read: “Breyer, retired. Now is the time for black women Supreme Court judges. There is no time to waste.”
Some legal scholars also joined in, including Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, who wrote in the Washington Post Column Last month, Breyer should “learn from Judge Ginsberg’s mistakes” and now step down, warning that “With a 50-50 Senate, everything is possible.”
Biden vowed to appoint the first black woman to appear in court if there is a vacancy. Kotangi Brown JacksonWidely regarded as one of the front runners, he was confirmed by the Senate earlier this week to serve in the prestigious Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, DC.
Barring any unexpected developments, Breyer’s retirement may be one of Biden’s only chances to appoint a Supreme Court judge in the near future. Clarence Thomas is an open conservative appointed in 1991. He is the second oldest person on the bench and 10 years younger than Breyer.
After the deaths of Scalia and Ginsberg and the retirement of Anthony Kennedy, Trump has a rare opportunity to fill three vacancies during his four-year tenure.Like many Republican lawmakers, he promised Conservative court To win over grassroots voters of the Republican Party who have strong opinions on issues such as guns and abortion.
At the same time, Biden largely avoided getting involved directly in court-related issues, even though he established a bipartisan committee earlier this year Consider reform, Including adding more Supreme Court judges.
In April, when asked about the president’s views on calling for Breyer to step down, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that it was the judge’s decision. This week, Biden said of McConnell’s implicit threat: “Mickey has been’no’ for a long time. I believe he said exactly what he meant. But we will see.”
Supreme Court judges are usually tight-lipped and rarely give interviews or comment on questions. Breyer is a graduate and former professor of Harvard Law School. His resume includes positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, but he says little about his plans.
Earlier this year, he made headlines when he delivered a speech at Harvard entitled “The Authority of the Court and the Dangers of Politics.” White people defended. House of Representatives and Congress.
Breyer said: “If the public views judges as politicians in robes, then their confidence in the court and the rule of law itself will only weaken, thereby weakening the power of the court, including its power to check and balance other departments.”
Jonathan Terry, a professor at the George Washington University School of Law, said the speech showed that Breyer might not be kind to the political movement that asked him to leave.
“There is no doubt that Breyer’s continued intellectual acuity or ability, so the question is whether he feels he needs to leave the court,” Terry said. “Judge Breyer might conclude that as an institution, allowing him to succumb to this type of campaign is more harmful to the court than keeping him in court.”
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