During his retirement speech at the White House on Thursday , Justice Stephen Breyer directed much of his remarks to the students in the audience. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a speech he gave exclusively to law students. During that speech, Breyer displayed the same characteristics that he showed yesterday, the same characteristics I have associated with the justice since I clerked for him in 2001: He was brilliant, capacious, generous, funny and so very human. One moment from that earlier speech stands out in my memory, when a student asked him about the growing partisanship in the United States, collegiality at the Supreme Court, and how we can foster exchange across differences of opinion...
Citation
Risa Goluboff, I Clerked for Justice Breyer. There’s One Thing I Hope Remains on the Court Long After He’s Gone., Slate (January 28, 2022).