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ID DATA

Stephen G. Breyer

Supreme Court Associate Justice

Despite marrying into British aristocracy and becoming incredibly wealthy, as junior Justice, he has to hold doors and fetch coffee for all the other Justices.

Age at Oath: 55
Senate Vote: 87-9
A difficult man to describe, defies simple classification.
Justice Breyer never uses footnotes in his writings.

By keeping citations in text, he is not tempted to use footnotes to expound on irrelevant points.

Personal Life

Stephen G. Breyer was born in San Francisco, California, on August 15, 1938. First son of a middle-class San Francisco Jewish family, his family was only one generation from poverty and lived frugally. His father, Irving Breyer, worked as a lawyer and legal counsel for the San Francisco Board of Education, while his mother, Anne, spent most of her time volunteering for the San Francisco Democratic Party and League of Women Voters.

Well-rounded education.

Their parents sent Breyer and his brother to religious school, but the family did not strictly observe their Jewish faith. Instead, they pushed him towards academic success. His mother also encouraged Stephen to avoid becoming bookish, and be well-rounded. He had to play sports, even though he had little ability. One summer at camp, Breyer won the nickname of "Blister King" for his tender feet. With perserverence, he achieved modest success. He achieved Eagle Scout at age 12 and a reputation as the "troop brain."

Dilemma: accepted at two colleges.

Both boys attended Lowell High School, a prestigious magnet academy of the public school system. In high school, Breyer participated in debate, competing against people such as the future California governor Jerry Brown. He graduated with only one "B" and so many debating, math and science awards that he was elected as "most likely to succeed." He was accepted at both Stanford and Harvard, and though Breyer wanted to attend Harvard, he did as his parents wished and chose the other college.

Busted by cops at college.

His mother hoped to steer Breyer away from a narrow academic focus, and Breyer achieved this while at Stanford - perhaps more than she would have liked, when Stephen was arrested for underage drinking. After college, he picked up an interest in economics at Oxford and distinguished himself at Harvard Law School.

At work: a man of contradictions.

As an appeals court judge, he upheld parental notification for teenage abortions, yet rejected federal guidelines that prevented health officials at public clinics from advising abortion. Strongly in favor of cutting government regulation, he stated this position was not beneficial for business, but is in interest of the people. Far from cynical, these sentiments are genuine, reflecting a pragmatic view, with uncertain results at times.

Family life.

While working in the Justice Department's anti-trust division, he met his future wife, Joanna Hare, who worked as an assistant in the Washington office of London's Sunday Times. The daughter of England's Lord John Blakenham, she came from a well-established family of British aristocracy. They married in 1967 in England, in an Anglican ceremony which was carefully edited to remove any mention of Christ.

Eccentric, fits in with in-laws.

With a great increase in personal net worth following the marriage, Breyer returned to Harvard to teach. His wife became a psychologist at Boston's Dana Farber Clinic. They enjoyed a comfortable life among the Cambridge intellectual elite, raising two daughters, Chloe and Nell, and a son, Michael. Though possessed of this enormous wealth, Breyer still lives a simple life, riding a bicycle to work and mowing his own lawn.

Out of touch with common folk?

Originally passed by in favor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Clinton found Breyer "dry and unfriendly," but supporters urged him to give Breyer a second chance. During his Senate confirmation hearing, reference was made to the hard work he put into formulating the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Supporters told stories of the intensely focused Breyer forgetting to change shirts, or failingn to notice that co-workers had planted goldfish in his water cooler. Detractors emphasized his technocratic side and apparent lack of identity with the common people. Breyer's substantial investments posed potential conflict-of-interest problems, which are said to have been quickly defused.

Some are more equal than others.

As the junior Associate Justice on the Court, his duties include opening and closing the door at private conference meetings and fetching coffee. Breyer has served as the junior member for 11 years, and will remain so until the replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor joins the court. Although Chief Justice Roberts is the newest member, the duties of junior Justice never go to the Chief Justice, who is considered primus inter pares - first among equals.

Work Background

1994 Aug 3	Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, nominated by Presidennt Clinton Aug 2, sworn in Aug 3, 1994.
1993	Considered for US Supreme Court, but nomination given to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
1990-1994	Member, Judicial Conference of the United States.
1990-1994	Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
1985-1989	Member, United States Sentencing Commission; played key role in reforming federal criminal sentencing procedures, producing the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, formulated to increase uniformity in sentences for criminal cases.
1980-1990	Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
1977-1980	Professor, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government; known as a leading expert on administrative law. Visiting Professor, College of Law, in Sydney, Australia, and at the Univesrity of Rome.
1967-1994	Assistant Professor, Professor of Law and Lecturer at Harvard Law School.
1979-1980	Chief Counsel, US Senate Judiciary Committee.
1974-1975	Special Counsel, US Senate Judiciary Committee, at invitation of Massachusetts Senator Kennedy.
1973	Assistant Special Prosecutor to Archibald Cox, Watergate Special Prosecution Force.
1965-1967	Special Assistant, Assistant US Attorney General for Antitrust.
1964-1965	Law Clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg, US Supreme Court; helped draft an opinion in the landmark right-to-privacy case, Griswold v. Connecticut.
	LL.B., Harvard Law School.
	B.A., Magdalen College, Oxford; attended as a Marshall Scholar.
	A.B., philosophy, Stanford University.
	Graduated, Lowell High School in San Francisco, California.