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Retirement of Stephen Breyer

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After nearly 28 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring at the end of the 2021-22 term. Here is a collection of resources on Breyer’s work, his retirement, and the upcoming nomination of a successor. A reverse-chronological list of all SCOTUSblog coverage of Breyer’s retirement is at the bottom of this page.
Breyer’s retirement

Stephen Breyer, pragmatic liberal: A retrospective on his life and career
Breyer’s retirement letter to President Joe Biden
At White House announcement, echoes of a ceremony 28 years prior

 
Symposium on Breyer’s jurisprudence

Brent Newton: Justice Breyer: A pragmatic moderate
Lincoln Caplan: Justice Breyer and Parents Involved
Ronald Levin: Justice Breyer as administrative law pragmatist
Michele Goodwin: Justice Breyer: A formidable defender of reproductive rights

 
Tributes to Breyer

Statements from the current justices and two retired justices
Brianne Gorod: Justice Breyer, the optimistic pragmatist
Vince Chhabria: The diversity of Justice Breyer’s legacy
Pratik Shah: Life lessons from Justice Breyer
Deanne Maynard: The many Stephen Breyers
Aileen McGrath: Always an optimist, always a teacher
Carolyn Shapiro: Learning from Justice Breyer’s vision for solving problems in a pluralistic nation

 
Nomination of a successor

Profiles of potential nominees

J. Michelle Childs
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Leondra Kruger

Biden reiterates promise to nominate a Black woman, lauds Breyer as “model public servant”
How Biden will choose the next Supreme Court nominee
SCOTUStalk special episode: The retirement of Stephen Breyer

 
Breyer’s writing

Significant majority opinions

Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021)
California v. Texas (2021)
Google v. Oracle (2021)
June Medical Services v. Russo (2020) (plurality opinion)
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)
Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (2016)
Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama (2015)
National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning (2014)
Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)
Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium v. Federal Communications Commission (1996)

Significant dissents

Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021)
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)
Glossip v. Gross (2015)
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007)
Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004)
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Books

The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics (2021)
The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities (2016)
Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View (2011)
Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution (2006)
Breaking the Vicious Circle: Toward Effective Risk Regulation (1995)
Regulation and Its Reform (1984)

Other significant writing

Economic Reasoning and Judicial Review (2009)
Our Democratic Constitution (2002)
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the Key Compromises Upon Which They Rest (1988)
Judicial Review of Questions of Law and Policy (1986)
Analyzing Regulatory Failure: Mismatches, Less Restrictive Alternatives, and Reform (1979)
Vermont Yankee and the Courts’ Role in the Nuclear Energy Controversy (1978)
The Uneasy Case for Copyright: A Study of Copyright in Books, Photocopies, and Computer Programs (1970)