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After more than 27 years, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is stepping down, leaving party officials and citizens alike buzzing with questions about who will replace him. On Jan. 27, President Biden officially announced Dr. Stephen Breyer’s retirement from the Supreme Court. Viewed as a “moderately liberal” judge, Justice Breyer is renowned for being professional, intellectual, and practical, in addition to his preference for riding his bike to work. During his years of service, he is most remembered for writing the 2016 Supreme Court decision to strike down a Texas law that would make it increasingly difficult for women in Texas to access abortion clinics. Additionally, during his tenure, he wrote the Court’s 8-1 decision expanding freedom of speech rights for students after a 14-year-old cheerleader cursed her school while off campus. He also wrote to uphold the Affordable Care Act for the third time in 2021.
In his speech on Jan. 27 announcing Justice Breyer’s retirement, President Biden remarked the process for selecting Justice Breyer’s successor “is going to be rigorous.” President Biden claims he intends to uphold his lingering promise from his campaign, as he stated in his White House address: “I’ve made no decisions except one: The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity, and that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue, in my view.”
Since his public remarks on Breyer’s retirement, three potential nominees have emerged. Currently, the three contenders for Justice Breyer’s replacement are federal Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and South Carolina Judge Julianna Childs.
Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson, a current member for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was on former President Barack Obama’s shortlist for Supreme Court nominations in 2016. After graduating from Harvard University and Harvard Law School, Judge Jackson clerked for Justice Breyer before moving on to work in a private practice. In 2003, Jackson worked as an assistant special counsel to the United States Sentencing Commission before becoming assistant public defender in Washington, D.C. in 2005. President Obama then nominated Jackson to serve as judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the second-most powerful court in the United States.
As a federal judge, Jackson is most notable for her ruling against former White House counsel Don McGhan, requiring him to testify to the House Judiciary Committee as part of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s possible obstruction of justice. In response to this case, she wrote that “presidents are not kings” and “no one is above the law.” Historically, Jackson has received substantial bipartisan support. She has been twice confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. Former House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan of the Republican Party even introduced her as “clearly qualified” and “an amazing person” at her 2012 confirmation hearing.
Similarly, Justice Leondra Kruger received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her J.D. from Yale Law School. Justice Kruger served in the Department as an Assistant to the Solicitor General and as Acting Deputy Solicitor General from 2007 to 2013. During her six years in the solicitor general’s office, she argued 12 cases at the Supreme Court. She has now served on the California Supreme Court for seven years, having joined in 2014. At 43 years old, Kruger would be the youngest Justice by over four years.
Unlike the other two prospective nominees, Judge Julianna Michelle Childs did not graduate from an Ivy League school but from the University of South Carolina Law School, yet she later received her Master of Laws degree from Duke University School of Law. Childs currently sits as a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, having been appointed by President Obama in 2010. She previously acted as an adviser for the American Law Institute on the Reinstatement Third, Employment Law and was the first Black woman to be a partner in a major law firm in the state of South Carolina. Childs is regarded for her expertise in employment and labor law. Even garnering support from her home-state Senator, Lindsey Graham, Child’s unconventional resume of not being D.C. based and with her background in labor law is drawing attention, and has resulted in her consideration for the U.S. Supreme Court seat. Just last month, Biden nominated Childs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, but that nomination is still pending.
Democratic officials say it’s important to have courts that reflect the demographics of the country we are living in to better represent the people of the United States and achieve “justice for all.” Conservative commentators, on the other hand, have pushed back, calling President Biden’s pledge “unprecedented and unnecessary.” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called it “offensive” and “an insult to Black women.” Regardless, upon nomination, should President Biden follow through on his promise, any of these candidates will be the first Black woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court. There have only been two Black Justices and five women Justices in the 233 years since the creation of the Supreme Court, resulting in a lack of representation for minority communities. A majority vote in the Senate is needed to confirm a nominee into the Supreme Court. The Democratic party currently holds the majority with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote.
Justice Breyer will step down at the end of the current session, presumed to be in June or July. Biden is expected to act quickly in order to be ready for when the Supreme Court begins session again on Oct. 3rd.
