Justice Stephen Breyer, retired from the United States Supreme Court, will return to the judiciary but not to the highest bench in the country. According to a report by Reuters, Breyer will operate as a visiting judge on the 1st Circuit, based in his old stomping grounds of Boston.
Prior to his term on the Supreme Court, Breyer worked on the 1st Circuit for 14 years. His plans were first revealed during a podcast hosted by Democratic strategist James Carville. “I’m a judge. If you take senior status, you remain a judge”, Breyer explained during the podcast, “And not only do you remain a judge in terms of status, but probably next fall I will go over and sit with the 1st Circuit. So I’m still an active judge.”
It was confirmed by the appeals court’s circuit executive, Susan Goldberg, that Breyer will indeed sit with the 1st Circuit in the upcoming fall, though exact dates are still to be determined. This is not an unprecedented scenario, as Breyer follows in the steps of his former colleague and friend, David Souter, who has regularly acted as a visiting judge on the Boston-based appeals court following his retirement from the Supreme Court in 2009.
In addition to his imminent responsibilities on the 1st Circuit, Justice Breyer will continue his fora into academia, teaching classes at Harvard Law School. Here, he holds the title of Byrne Professor of Administrative Law and Process.
We look forward to following Justice Breyer’s contributions to the judiciary and academia post-retirement as these plans unfold.
For more on Justice Breyer’s next chapter, find the original article here.