Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyeris an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSupreme Court Justice
Date of Birth15 August 1938
CitySan Francisco, CA
CountryUnited States of America
judging political want
Nobody wants a judge to be subject to the political whim of the moment.
government citizens want
Every citizen has to figure out what kind of government he or she wants.
hands groups bars
We can speak about the institution, but ultimately the bar is the group that both is in touch with the public on the one hand and understands the judicial institution on the other
mean law independence
Independence means you decide according to the law and the facts.
fighting people helping
It doesn't help to fight crime to put people in prison who are innocent.
children mean gay
I mean, there are lots of people who get married who can't have children. To take a state that does allow adoption and say-there, what is the justification for saying no gay marriage? Certainly not the one you said, is it?
law liberty important
It's important to every American that the law protect his or her basic liberty
country nice constitution
There are loads of countries that have nice written constitutions like ours. But there aren't loads of countries where they're followed.
mean independence way
Independence doesn't mean you decide the way you want.
mean thinking law
I think whether you are a judge on my court or whether you are a judge on a court of appeals or any court, and lawyers too - and if you're interested in law yourself, you'll be in the same situation - you have a text that isn't clear. If the text is clear, you follow the text. If the text isn't clear, you have to work out what it means. And that requires context.
law people trials
You will read in the newspaper more often about federal courts, but the law that affects people, the trials that affect human beings are by and large in the state courts
strong policy-making law
Active liberty is particularly at risk when law restricts speech directly related to the shaping of public opinion, for example, speech that takes place in areas related to politics and policy-making by elected officials. That special risk justifies especially strong pro-speech judicial presumptions. It also justifies careful review whenever the speech in question seeks to shape public opinion, particularly if that opinion in turn will affect the political process and the kind of society in which we live.
people awful sticks
People have to be educated and they have to stick to it. If people lose that respect, an awful lot is lost
wisdom thinking clue
The best clue to what a person thinks is what he says.