This Case Is a Dog Oct 7, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer, who has been waiting, now pounces on the injured Katyal. He asks how prosecutors are supposed to evaluate the "religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value" of "bullfighting, sheep hunting, bear hunting, deer hunting, fox hunting, humane slaughter, and ... stuffing geese for pte de foie gras?". (Slate)
High court considers free speech in animal cruelty case Oct 7, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer indicated Congress should take another crack at writing a law that prohibits the frightful things it was targeting instead of forcing the courts into the work of interpreting these very vague words. The law has split animal rights activists and free speech advocates. (Boston Globe)
Court opens with case on prisoner's bid for lawyer Oct 6, 2009
Alito, Roberts andJustice Stephen Breyer all did the same, questioning lawyers in their first days on the court. Almost all the justices asked questions during Monday's arguments. (WCAX.com, VT)
Court begins new term with a new justice Oct 6, 2009
Most were split between reliable "conservatives": Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Alito; and reliable "liberals": Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and the now-departed David Souter. Sotomayor is expected to join the progressives, maintaining the balance set by her predecessor. (CNN -- Law)
Supreme Court, Sotomayor Begin New Term Oct 6, 2009
Back row, from left are: Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. (AP). (CBS News -- US)
C-SPAN on the Supreme Court: This time it's personal Oct 5, 2009
Standing, from left are: Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor ... (The others were Stephen Breyer and John Paul Stevens, who is rumored to be retiring after this term. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
Supreme Court justices hear church’s plea for rights of the unborn Oct 5, 2009
Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy (front center), Stephen Breyer (second row right), Samuel Alito (behind Breyer), and Sonia Sotomayor (back center) left the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington following yesterday s Red Mass ... Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, was there as well. (Boston Globe)
6 members of Supreme Court attend Mass Oct 5, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, was there as well. Speaking at the annual Red Mass the day before the opening of the Supreme Court term, DiNardo said that people represented by lawyers are "more than clients. ... In some cases the clients are voiceless for they lack influence; in others they are literally voiceless, not yet with tongues and even without names, and require our most careful attention and radical support.". (MSNBC -- Politics)
Nations high court gets new term, justice Oct 4, 2009
From left, Chief Justice John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Antonin Scalia, Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas. . (MSNBC -- Politics)
Lobbying or prayer service? Oct 2, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, is a regular. The Mass "takes its name from the color of the vestments. ... [It] goes back centuries, to Rome, to France to England," Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl said. (CNN -- International)
Supreme Court case will test extent of gun rights Oct 1, 2009
In the back are Samuel Alito, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court raised the stakes for its new term and for gun owners nationwide by agreeing Wednesday to hear an appeal from firearms owners in Chicago. (USA Today)
Supreme Court takes a fresh look at handgun laws Oct 1, 2009
Standing, from left are: Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak). (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- World)
Cablevision Names David Ellen General Counsel Sep 30, 2009
He also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg when they were U.S. Circuit Court judges. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1992, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review. (Multichannel News)
Justice Ginsburg Hospitalized After Feeling Faint Sep 25, 2009
Standing are Ruth Bader Ginsburg, from left, David Souter, Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer. (Gannett News Service, Tim Dillon/USA TODAY). (13WMAZ.com, GA)
Supreme Court justices question campaign finance law Sep 10, 2009
Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and the court's newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, repeatedly stressed that the court should identify narrower grounds to decide the case rather than overturning established legal precedents. But the conservatives including Roberts and Alito seemed determined to correct what they view as an error of constitutional import. (Christian Science Monitor -- USA)
High court tackles 'Hillary: The Movie,' again Sep 10, 2009
It's 'not a musical comedy,' Justice Stephen Breyer says of the film ... Justice Stephen Breyer expressed doubts about rolling back the requirements. (MSNBC -- Politics)
Campaign Spending Tops Supreme Ct. Docket Sep 10, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer expressed doubts about rolling back the requirements. He suggested that to do so might "make a hash" of campaign finance reforms enacted by Congress in 2002. (Time.com)
Unprecedented Sep 10, 2009
Ginsburg shoots back that nobody is being prohibited from speaking: "Corporations can give, but it has to use a PAC." Olson responds that this is just "ventriloquist speech surrogate speech." Justice Stephen Breyer rejects Olson's contention that there is no compelling governmental interest in regulating corporate money in elections: "It's this concern about the perception that people are, say, buying candidates," he urges. Ginsburg adds, hopefully, "Wasn't there a finding before the... (Slate)
Sotomayor takes her place on high court bench Sep 9, 2009
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office, after which Sotomayor took her seat at the end of the bench to Roberts' left, next to Justice Stephen Breyer. All her colleagues were in attendance. (MSNBC -- Politics)
Sotomayor Joins Supreme Court Sep 9, 2009
Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office, after which Sotomayor took her seat at the end of the bench to Roberts' left, next to Justice Stephen Breyer. More Stories. (KWTX.com, TX)
Court's special session marks Sotomayor debut Sep 5, 2009
"I've seen this movie," Justice Stephen Breyer wryly noted at the time. "It's not a musical comedy.". (CNN)
Click to read:Kennedy Hailed as 'Greatest Legislator' Aug 30, 2009
Joining Mr. Obama and nearly 1,500 other invitees were former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as 58 current members of the U.S. Senate, 21 former members and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, once an aide to Kennedy ... my faithful servant". Your life was an inspiration to many. We thank you. by woeisme1 August 29, 2009 2:05 PM EDT So there you have it anti-Kennedy people from the right. Republicans and other people of all walks of life, in every station,... (CBS News)
The notables who attended Senator Kennedy's funeral Aug 30, 2009
US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Central Intelligence Director Leon Panetta. (Boston Globe)
Obama to honor Sen. Kennedy at funeral Mass Aug 30, 2009
"The invitation-only funeral audience of world leaders and commoners alike evoked the funerals for Kennedy's brothers. It was at RFK's rites in 1968 that the senator not only emerged as family patriarch, but also the person to deliver the final word on lives cut short.He memorialized Robert Kennedy by saying, "My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and... (Seacoast New Hampshire)
In church and streets, one theme Aug 30, 2009
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, a former Kennedy staff member, blended in with the 1,450 people who packed Mission Church, as the basilica is commonly called. More than half of the US Senate traveled to Boston for the service, including Republicans John McCain and Orrin Hatch, who remained close friends with Kennedy despite their sharp political differences. (Boston Globe)
Boston Archbishop to Lead Kennedy Mass Saturday Aug 29, 2009
former aide Stephanie Cutter, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, former Sen. Wyche Fowler (D-Ga. (Roll Call)
Ted Kennedy's Wake: A Fond Farewell to 'Captain Ahab' Aug 29, 2009
And Irish tenors John McDermott and Colm Wilkinson led the audience to its feet for a final, rousing version of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." The crowd of more than 600 included 85 Kennedy family members, actress Lauren Bacall, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, former Senator John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Vice President Walter Mondale, Obama political adviser David Axelrod and former NBC Nightly News Anchor... (Time.com)
Obama eulogizing Kennedy at funeral Mass Aug 29, 2009
Joining Obama and nearly 1,500 other invitees at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica were former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, as well as 58 current members of the U.S. Senate, 21 former members and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, once an aide to Kennedy. White House aides were mum about the eulogy the president would offer, but Obama was expected to focus on the impact Kennedy had on American life since first being elected in 1962. (Albany Times Union)
Youngest Kennedy was his own man Aug 28, 2009
One sitting justice 00004000 , Stephen Breyer, is a former Kennedy staffer. Despite those partisan battles, Kennedy developed a deserved reputation for working across party lines, an especially important trait in the Senate, where the rules make bipartisan action more effective. (Herald Online, SC -- Opinion)
Ohio court backs company in breast-pumping case Aug 28, 2009
She voted along with the court's liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, whose execution is Tuesday. Unconventional cowboy. (Fresno Bee -- Nation)
Bail ordered for man in beating Aug 27, 2009
Justice Stephen Breyer ordered a federal judge to set a practical amount of bail and other conditions of release for Michael O Laughlin. O Laughlin was convicted of armed assault with intent to murder, burglary, and other charges in the November 2000 attack on Annmarie Kotowski, a teacher in Dalton, Mass. (Boston Globe)
Kennedy's office was incubator for policy elite Aug 27, 2009
When the Supreme Court heard arguments in Bush v. Gore in 2000, one former Judiciary Committee staffer - litigator David Boies - took up Gore s case before another, Justice Stephen Breyer. Over 46 years in office, Kennedy configured a legislative machine that seemed to propel itself even in his absence. (Boston Globe)
Sen. Ted Kennedy Dies After Battle With Brain... Aug 27, 2009
Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., to confirm Stephen Breyer to the federal bench, putting the former Kennedy aide on a path that would take him to the Supreme Court. Sen. (13WMAZ.com, GA)
High Court Justices Among Those Paying Tribute to Sen. Kennedy Aug 27, 2009
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a pair of statements on -- one from Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., and the other from Justice Stephen Breyer, who worked for Kennedy 30 years ago as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kennedy pushed for Breyer's nomination to the high court in the early 1990s, and opposed Roberts' nomination in 2005. (Law.com)
Kennedy's Career Forged in Public's Glare Aug 26, 2009
A postscript: More than a decade later, President Clinton nominated a former Kennedy aide, Stephen Breyer, to the high court. He was confirmed easily. (CBS News)
Sotomayor on Losing End in 1st Court Vote Aug 19, 2009
She voted along with the court's liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, whose execution is Tuesday ... "She voted along with the court's liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, whose execution is Tuesday.". (CBS News)
Sotomayor vote fails to halt execution Aug 19, 2009
She voted along with the court s liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, which was carried out yesterday. Getsy, 33, who was sentenced to die for shooting 66-year-old Ann Serafino in 1995 while trying to carry out a contract killing on her son, had asked the nation s high court to allow him to challenge Ohio s lethal injection system as cruel and unusual punishment. (Boston Globe)
Ohio murder-for-hire triggerman awaits execution Aug 18, 2009
She voted along with the court's liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, whose execution is Tuesday. Scott Peterson won't attend his latest trial. (Fresno Bee -- Nation)
Sotomayor on losing end in Ohio man's death appeal Aug 18, 2009
She voted along with the court's liberal bloc - Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer - to stop the execution of Jason Getsy, whose execution is Tuesday. Getsy had asked the nation's high court Monday to allow him to challenge Ohio's lethal injection system as cruel and unusual punishment. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Supreme Court says Ga. man on death row should get hearing Aug 18, 2009
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer concurred with Stevens. MacPhail was slain while working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. (Boston Globe)
Hearing for US death row inmate Aug 18, 2009
But Justice John Paul Stevens, supported by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, said Justice Scalia was wrong. "The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary hearing," wrote Justice Stevens. (BBC News -- Americas)
Execution off; Davis tries to prove innocence Aug 18, 2009
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer supported the decision. Sonia Sotomayor, who was sworn in August 8 as the newest member of the high court, did not take part in the petition. (CNN)
Supreme Court's Davis Ruling Raises New Death Penalty Questions Aug 18, 2009
"The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death clearly provides an adequate justification," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens, in an opinion joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. "Simply put, the case is sufficiently 'exceptional' to warrant utilization of this Court's" power to intervene from on high. (Time.com)
Supreme Sonia: Fear What She Will Do Outside of the Court, Not Inside Aug 18, 2009
J. Wohlstetter: "Efforts of Justices to sway colleagues can backfire. Sandra Day OConnor and Anthony Kennedy became less conservative in part due to a desire to counter strong conservatives Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.You will notice, that is a ONE WAY ideological street. Two so-called conservatives turning LEFT.If there are ANY modern examples of the opposite occurring, ANY so-called liberals turning Right, then by all means, DO tell dont keep us all in... (Townhall.com)
Argument Time Expanded for High Court Campaign Finance Case Aug 18, 2009
Sotomayor takes over the handling of emergency matters for the western 10th Circuit from Justice Stephen Breyer. The 2nd Circuit, where she served until joining the high court, remains the bailiwick of fellow New Yorker Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Law.com)
Sotomayor celebrated at White House Aug 13, 2009
East Room event packed with her family, friends and supporters. It's about every child who will grow up thinking to him or herself, 'If Sonia Sotomayor can make it, then maybe I can, too,'" Obama said. "This is a great day for America. (MSNBC -- Politics)
MICHAEL BARONE Aug 10, 2009
Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, yesterday whether the Federal Reserve was "paying banks high interest rates to keep funds... Published: Jul 22, 2009 Thursday is the day things tend to come to a boil on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress have been in town for three or four days, they're planning their exits on Friday to meet other commitments, they've had a chance to talk and meet with each other and sample the mood of their colleagues. This month, Thursdays have been very bad days for the Obama... (The Drudge Report)
* FEATURE : Sotomayor is rookie on high court Aug 10, 2009
Deanne Maynard, a partner at the Morrison and Foerster law firm who worked for Justice Stephen Breyer, said an experienced clerk is useful in explaining the courts customs to new justices. If you want to join an opinion, but you really wish perhaps they might modify part of it slightly, whats the norm in the court. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
GOP rejects concerns about alienating Hispanic voters Aug 5, 2009
But the 28 already pronounced no votes from Republicans would dwarf the single-digit opposition drawn by the two previous nominees from a Democratic president, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Most Senate Republicans say opposition to Sotomayor is a principled stand based on the belief that her public speeches reveal a personal bias in her judicial philosophy. (Boston Globe)
Obama unlikely to get bipartisan OK for nominee Aug 4, 2009
Likewise, President Bill Clinton's two nominees also won the wide backing of Republicans: the Senate in 1993 voted 96-3 to confirm Ruth Bader Ginsburg and in 1994 voted 87-9 to confirm Stephen Breyer. One senator wondered if any nominee could expect such broad support in the current political climate. (AZCentral -- News)
Senate opens debate on Sotomayor for Supreme Court Aug 4, 2009
Hatch, who backed Sotomayor's 1998 bid for a federal appellate judgeship and voted to confirm two of President Bill Clinton's Supreme Court nominees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, said Friday that he'd oppose Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Hatch said he made decision "reluctantly and with a heavy heart," but that he had serious questions about her judicial philosophy. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Activists? On the high court? Aug 4, 2009
The film, as Justice Stephen Breyer aptly put it during the first oral argument, "is not a musical comedy." It portrays Clinton as a "congenital liar" with a "tendency to manipulate, deceive and destroy for personal gain," while it emphasizes the stakes in the forthcoming election. This is precisely the sort of cantankerous political speech that ought to be protected under the First Amendment. (Albany Times Union)
Computer games to teach youths about judiciary Aug 2, 2009
Online games are the latest extension of a project that grew out of a 2006 conference chaired by O'Connor and Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Many attendees highlighted a lack of effective civics training in schools as one of the biggest threats to the judicial system. (AZCentral -- News)
Dems to GOP Nominee: Will the Defendant Please Rise? Jul 24, 2009
The next Clinton nominee, Stephen Breyer, was also treated gallantly -- no video rental records or perjurious testimony was adduced against him -- and confirmed in an 87-to-9 vote. As Mrs. Sam Alito can attest, the magnanimity was not returned to Bush's Supreme Court nominees. (Human Events Online)
Why No Evangelical Justice? Jul 24, 2009
Six nominees have been sent to Congress by Democrats since 1964: Thurgood Marshall, an African-American, four Jewish nominees -- Arthur Goldberg, Abe Fortas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer -- and one wise Latina woman. Not since JFK put All-American Byron "Whizzer" White on in 1962 have Democrats elevated a white Christian. (Human Events Online)
The Virtues of Supreme Silence Jul 19, 2009
Many answers could have been plagiarized from the testimony of John Roberts or Stephen Breyer or Samuel Alito. These days, Supreme Court nominees manage to sound as indistinguishable as Miss America finalists addressing world peace, and not a whole lot smarter. (Townhall.com)
How to Handle Sonia Jul 18, 2009
As Republicans have never brutalized a Supreme Court nominee -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg got 96 votes and Stephen Breyer 87 -- they need no lectures on decency or decorum. What they must do is expose Sotomayor, as they did not in the case of Ginsburg, as a political activist whose career bespeaks a lifelong resolve to discriminate against white males to the degree necessary to bring about an equality of rewards in society. (Human Events Online)
Sotomayor’s cautious openness to foreign laws Jul 16, 2009
In the Supreme Court, Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Anthony Kennedy have taken the lead. This has not taken the form of deference to foreign law, but to openness to sound judicial thinking wherever it is found. (Boston Globe)
No Diversity With Sotomayor Jul 16, 2009
Stephen Breyer, Harvard. Samuel Alito, Yale. (Human Events Online)
HISTORY? Clarence Thomas: I'll serve on Court for 40 years... Jul 13, 2009
Yet he can be seen trading quips with his seatmate, Justice Stephen Breyer a hint of the gregarious Clarence Thomas whose close friends describe him as a man with a wide-ranging intellect and gutsy sense of humor that takes flight in what they call The Laugh. He is a man who says he does not read newspapers and seldom if ever watches newscasts. (The Drudge Report)
Report: U of I dean traded admissions for scholarships Jul 9, 2009
John Edwards and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. There was no suggestion any of the letters were in any way inappropriate. (The Pantagraph newspaper)
It's Still Kennedy's Court, Say Supreme Court Practitioners Jul 8, 2009
Once during oral arguments, he said he noticed Justice Stephen Breyer asking hypothetical questions lifted straight from an earlier opinion by Kennedy. Panel members also commented on the evolving relationship between Kennedy and Justice Samuel Alito Jr. The two have joined their opinions in cases including (pdf), where the Court ruled that criminal defendants did not have the right to DNA testing, and , in which it found that police had unconstitutionally searched a suspect s car. (Law.com)
Obama talks jobs, Jackson,Russia Jul 3, 2009
July 1: Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor and Justice Stephen Breyer join Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss the confirmation process of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. MSNBC. (MSNBC -- Politics)
High court calls it like it is Jul 3, 2009
This racial vision is shared by the four dissenting justices in the Ricci case: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who wrote the dissenting opinion), John Paul Stevens, David Souter (good riddance), and Stephen Breyer. The flaccid, outcome-driven opinion of this group was ably demolished by Justice Alito, who forcefully concluded about the wronged firefighters: "What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law -- of Title VII's prohibition against discrimination based on race.... (NJ.com -- Times)
George F. Will: Firefighters ruling a discouragingly narrow one at 5-4 Jul 2, 2009
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined in dissent by John Paul Stevens, David Souter and Stephen Breyer, rejected the majority's conclusions root and branch. She cited a federal report from the early 1970s about discrimination in hiring firefighters, disputed even the "business necessity" of the exams' 60/40 written/oral ratio and defended the integrity of New Haven's decision-making rejecting Alito's concurrence, which dwelt on the rancid racial politics of the Rev. Boise Kimber. (Sacramento Bee -- Opinion)
