Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has authored key rulings bolstering abortion right and protecting a landmark health law. He also questioned the death penalty over 27 years of being a liberal sitting on a bench that is often dominated conservatively.

Breyer, who U.S. media reports on Wednesday said would retire https://www.reuters.com/world/us/liberal-us-supreme-court-justice-stephen-breyer-retire-media-reports-2022-01-26 at the end of the court’s current term, will leave a legacy as a moderating influence and a pragmatist on a court that has moved rightward during his tenure and currently has a commanding 6-3 conservative majority. Breyer, who is 83 years old, is currently the oldest justice on the highest U.S. court.

In 1994, Democratic President Bill Clinton appointed him to the life-long job. Only the conservative Justice Clarence Thomas has been a member of the court for longer than any other. Breyer’s retirement won’t alter the court’s ideology balance, but it will allow Democratic President Joe Biden to name a young liberal replacement who can serve for many decades.

Breyer, in a speech from last year expressed trust in the court’s ability to function and countered accusations of it being more politicized by its rightward orientation. Breyer pointed out that former President Donald Trump had unsuccessfully tried to overturn the court’s decision on his 2020 loss based upon false allegations of widespread voter fraud.

Breyer stated, “These are my reasons why I don’t think the court should be considered another political institution.”

The conservatives of the court have grown bolder during their current nine month term. There are rulings expected by June to gut abortion rights as well as widen gun rights.

Breyer was a member the court’s liberal wings and helped to advance LGBT rights, including the 2015 landmark decision legalizing gay marriage in the United States and the 2020 decision that protects transgender workers from discrimination at work.

Breyer was the author of two important rulings in defense of abortion rights. One of these was a 2016 5-3 decision by the court that overturned a Republican-backed Texas law, which sought to restrict clinics and physicians who do abortions. This had led to some clinics closing. In 2020, the court ruled 5-4 against a Louisiana law that was backed by Republicans and contained similar restrictions for physicians.

Breyer’s ruling last year rejected a Republican attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. This landmark domestic achievement by former President Barack Obama has enabled millions of Americans to obtain coverage. This ruling, known as Obamacare, preserved the law for the third consecutive time, at 7-2.

Breyer was also the author of a decision in an important case for free speech last year that supported a cheerleader, who was punished by her highschool for posting profanity-laced content on social media.

‘CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PENALISM’

Breyer challenged the constitutionality of capital punishment in 2015. Breyer, along with fellow liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a 41-page dissent that the death penalty “in and of itself likely constitutes a legal prohibited cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.”

Breyer stated that innocent persons have been sentenced to death. Capital punishment was marred by politics and racial discrimination, and its application varies widely from one place. There have also been long delays between execution and sentencing. It has also been arbitrarily imposed.

Breyer voted against in significant victories for conservatives like the 2000 decision that halted Florida ballot recounts. This effectively handed the U.S. presidency over to Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore following a disputed election.

He was open to compromise whenever possible.

Breyer was the swing voter in 2005 when the court ruled in two cases that questioned whether religious displays on public properties violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. This prohibits government endorsement of religion. Breyer was the sole justice who was part of the majority. While the Texas Capitol was permitted to have a huge monument honoring the Ten Commandments of God, they determined that two Kentucky courthouses could not accommodate framed copies.

Questioned last year during a session with school students about U.S. political fractures and polarization, Breyer said he remains “basically optimistic https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-breyer-touts-compromise-democracy-adherence-precedent-2021-05-28.” Breyer stated that American democracy, despite all its faults, is “better” than other alternatives.

Breyer took over for liberal Justice Harry Blackmun and secured Senate confirmation with an 87-9 vote. Breyer had previously been named by Democratic President Jimmy Carter in 1980 to the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Breyer was born August 15, 1938 in San Francisco. In 1959, he graduated from Stanford University and two years later received a degree at the University of Oxford. Harvard Law School was where he graduated 1964. He later taught and lectured at Harvard Law School.

As a clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg, he got his first experience at the Supreme Court. Following a brief stint at the Justice Department’s antitrust department, he was assigned to work under Archibald Cox (his former professor), who was the special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal, which saw President Richard Nixon resign. Breyer was also an adviser to Senator Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democratic senator.

Joanna Hare was born in Britain to Lord John Blakenham and is the daughter of Breyer. The couple had three children.