STEPHEN BREYER

Chief Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Abstract

Stephen G. Breyer was the second appointed judge to the Supreme Court of United States of America by President Bill Clinton. Breyer proved to be very competent personnel in his field with years of experience in government service and federal appellate court. He is the author of some important concurring and dissenting opinions in the history of law. Although, he is considered as a moderate and liberal person, nonetheless, his positions are always unpredictable. His verdicts have been unexpected and different from others, in most of the cases. This paper presents the educational and professional background of the chief justice Stephen Breyer. Moreover, it also discusses some of his important Supreme Court decisions and opinions that have become a precedent for others to follow.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Personal Life1

Educational Background2

Early Years of Professional Career3

Appointment as Supreme Court Judge4

Supreme Court Record and Verdicts5

Opinion in Cases of Discrimination5

Verdicts in the Field of Education Law7

Criminal Cases9

Breyer's Vision and Philosophy12

Conclusion13

References15

Chief Justice Stephen G. Breyer

Introduction

Stephen Breyer was born in San Francisco, California, on August 15, 1938. He was raised in a middle class Jewish family. His family was very supportive of high education and public service. Breyer's father, being an attorney, provided his services for the city board of education as a legal counsel. His mother was an active member of the League of Women Voters, the local Democratic Party organization, and a United Nations association. Breyer received education from some highly reputed educational institutions. He provided the services of a clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg, worked as a professor at Harvard Law School and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government before his appointment as a judge. He was appointed as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1980, and an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1994. Some of the Official positions during his professional careers includes being a law clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg in 1964, assistant to the attorney general of Antitrust Division, U.S. Justice Department in 1965, assistant to the special prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution Force in 1973, special counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee in 1974, chief counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee in 1979 and as a judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1980 to 1994 (Breyer, 2003).

Personal Life

Chief justice Stephen Breyer married the daughter of former British Conservative Party leader Lord John Blackenham, Joanna Hare in 1967. The couple met in Washington, D.C. for the first time. Joanna continued her education after sixteen years of marriage and received a Ph.D. doctorate in psychology. They raised two daughters and a son. The family possesses 160 acres in Plainfield, New Hampshire. Stephen Breyer is known as an avid birdwatcher, an amazing cook, a passionate fan of old movies and football. His colleague says that he used to wear the same suit for days and weeks sometimes, while working on an important case or project. The New York Times quotes him more a more convincing ...