Until last week when he swore in Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, his successor on the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Breyer had a rigorous, intellectually challenging job with the highest of stakes.
Just because Breyer has retired doesn't mean he has to stop hearing cases. A 1937 law allows retired Supreme Court justices to continue to hear and decide cases on lower federal courts, a practice called “sitting by designation.” A number of retired justices have continued to sit on federal courts of appeal, the level below the Supreme Court, where judges hear cases in three-judge panels.
Justice David Souter, for example, has participated in nearly 500 cases as a judge on the Boston-based federal appeals court since his 2009 retirement from the Supreme Court. Those who know Breyer say they wouldn't be surprised if he joins Souter in not entirely hanging up his robe. The court Souter sits on, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, would have a particular draw. Breyer was a judge there for 14 years, including four years as the chief judge, before becoming a justice. He was deeply involved in designing the courthouse itself, which was completed in 1998, and he still has a home in Cambridge in addition to one in Washington, D.C.Breyer has a role as a different kind of judge too.
As a professor Breyer was an expert in administrative law, the law surrounding government agencies. Law schools still use a textbook he co-authored. One of his students later became a court colleague. Justice Elena Kagan has called him “my favorite professor.” It'd be easy for Breyer to return to the classroom if that's what he wanted. A number of the current justices teach law school classes, either during the year or during the summer. International locations are
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