The public’s trust in the Supreme Court has plummeted, as the conservative supermajority decisions have already stripped Americans of rights and threaten more of the same. But in a new essay published Wednesday in The New York Times, former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer suggests a more pressing concern for the high court and the country: Are the justices friends?
For all Breyer’s anecdotes, the core of his essay is still emphasizing the humanity of justices who are more than willing to de-emphasize the humanity of others in their decisions.
Breyer suggests that differences of opinion between the justices, “important as they are,” must “remain professional, not personal.” This was the case while he was a justice, he writes, and “this meant that we could listen to one another, which increased the chances of agreement or compromise.” Such congeniality is a template for a divided nation, Breyer argues — without going into detail about the actual disagreements between the left and the right on matters like race, gun safety and voting rights.
The retired justice’s piece is filled with anecdotes about the various justices he served alongside ribbing each other and finding connection despite their policy differences. It would all be charming — if it weren’t for the obscene amounts of power those nine justices wield, no matter how chummily they do it. Instead, the sentiment of Breyer’s writing manages to combine that of a disgruntled retiree’s sepia-tinged remembrances and an overly earnest Facebook post. For all Breyer’s anecdotes, the core of his essay is still emphasizing the humanity of justices who are more than willing to de-emphasize the humanity of others in their decisions.
In a sense, this is nothing new for the former justice. It hearkens back to his former traveling debate with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, a lion of the conservative originalist movement in the courts. It was their way of demonstrating that strenuous debate…
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