Last week, Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced his decision to retire after 28 years on the U.S. Supreme Court. To reflect on his legacy, both personal and professional, today’s episode is a two-part conversation with guests who have unique insights into Justice Breyer’s life and work.
Joining host Jeffrey Rosen for the first part of the conversation are two former law clerks to Justice Breyer. Neal Katyal, who clerked for Justice Breyer from 1996 – 1997, is a partner at Hogan Lovells and the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and Theodore Ruger, who clerked for Justice Breyer from 1997 – 1998, is the dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law.
For the second part of the conversation, Nell Breyer, executive director of the Marshall Scholars Association and Foundation and Justice Breyer’s daughter, joins us to share some family memories and life lessons learned from her dad.
FULL PODCAST
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This episode was produced by Melody Rowell and engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and Greg Scheckler. Research was provided by Kevin Closs, Ruben Aguirre, Sam Desai, and Lana Ulrich.
Participants
Neal Katyal is a partner at Hogan Lovells and is the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. Previously, he was the former Acting Solicitor General of the United States under President Barack Obama. He has also argued more than 40 cases before the Supreme Court. He clerked for Justice Breyer during the 1996 – 1997 term.
Theodore Ruger is the Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Ruger clerked for Breyer during the 1997-98 term and formerly worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly prior to entering academia. He is a scholar of constitutional law, specializing in the study of judicial authority, and an expert on health law and pharmaceutical regulation. He clerked for Justice Breyer during the 1997 – 1998 term.
Nell Breyer is an artist and Justice Breyer’s daughter. Her work focuses on the intersection of media, movement, and the public domain. For the past six years, she has been the Executive Director at the Association of Marshall Scholars. Previous to that, she was the Director of Programming and Education at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. She received her B.A. from Yale University, Master of Science from Oxford and MIT, and her Doctorate of Design, Interactive Media in Public Space from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
Additional Resources
- “The Court Loses Its Chief Pragmatist,” by Jeffrey Rosen
- “Breyer’s Legacy of Constitutional Humility,” by Neal Katyal
- Dean Ruger’s statement on Justice Breyer’s retirement
- Justice Breyer in conversation with Jeffrey Rosen on Live at the National Constitution Center
TRANSCRIPT
This transcript may not be in its final form, accuracy may vary, and it may be updated or revised in the future.
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