At the age of 83, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyers has announced that he plans to retire. He will stay on the court until a replacement is found and President Biden has vowed that his replacement will be an African American woman. Although Biden’s pick will not alter the balance of the court, his nominee is set to be much younger. 

51-year-old Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a previous law clerk for Breyers and an assistant federal public defender who served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, is a potential candidate. 45-year-old Justice Leondra Kruger also serves as a potential candidate and is a veteran of the U.S. Solicitor General’s office. Other potential candidates include South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs, civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls, District Judge Wilhelmina “Mimi” Wright, Circuit Judge Eunice Lee, Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Circuit Judge Holly A. Thomas, Federal Circuit Court Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham, Philadelphia public defender Arianna J. Freeman, New York Law Professor Melissa Murray, and voting rights expert Nancy G. Abudu. 

Biden’s team has heavily emphasized its desire for diverse judicial appointments from those who are not afraid to go against the norm and have been historically underrepresented federally, such as those who are public defenders and civil rights and legal aid attorneys.

Breyers’ decision to retire stems from the pressure he faced from the left, encouraging him to leave the court while Biden still had the chance to replace him. He has served on the bench for nearly three decades and has directed his focus on how law can work for the average citizen. He did not view the Supreme Court as a cure to all issues in the United States. He simply viewed the Supreme Court as a platform where opinions had the opportunity to be unpopular. 

There has been speculation regarding whether or not Republicans plan to block the nominee, as they do not even know who it will be yet. However, if all the Democrats unite, they possess the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 with no support from the Republican end. 

With pressure from the public and Democrats in office, President Biden is being urged to pick a nominee and many are eager to find out who it will be.  

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