4
National news
The Week Junior • February 11, 2022
S
tephen Breyer, a justice on the Supreme Court
of the United States (SCOTUS) for 27 years,
announced his retirement on January 27 at the
White House. Breyer is one of the nine judges,
called justices, who make up the Supreme Court,
the nation’s most powerful court of law.
Who is Justice Breyer?
Breyer, the oldest of the current justices at age
83, was nominated by President Bill Clinton,
a Democrat, in 1994. Previously, Breyer was
a federal judge for a lower court. He said his
goal as a justice was to reinforce democracy.
Most recently, in 2021, he wrote the majority
court opinion (decision) in cases to protect
free speech and to uphold a law that provides
Americans with health insurance.Why is his retirement signifi cant?
SCOTUS justices are nominated by the President
and have lifetime appointments. They can remain
on the court until they quit, retire, or die. Breyer is
widely believed to have timed his retirement so
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, could nominate
someone to replace him. After a President names
a nominee, the person attends a hearing in the
Senate (one half of Congress) to answer questions.
Senators then vote on whether to approve the
nominee. Democrats have control of the Senate,
which means Biden’s choice could be approved.
What has been the reaction?
Biden thanked Breyer for his “remarkable career of
public service” and for making “our country’s laws
work for its people.” John Roberts, the SupremeCourt’s chief justice (top judge), expressed
admiration for Breyer’s love of his country—and
said he would miss Breyer’s “collection of riddles
and knock-knock jokes,” revealing a glimpse of
how the justices get to know one another when
not in court. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s
top Republican leader, said Breyer “commands
respect and aff ection across the legal world.”
What will happen next?
Biden said he will announce his nominee to
replace Breyer by the end of February and
that he would nominate a Black woman. If
approved, the nominee would be the fi rst Black
woman to become a Supreme Court justice and
the sixth woman out of the 115 justices who
have served on the court since 1789.WORD WEEK
OF
THEBefore printing was invented, the fi rst letters of
a book’s chapters were drawn by hand. These
letters often included small images, drawn in a
red pigment called “vermilion,” or minium in
Latin. In Italian, these images were called
“miniatura.” People thought this word referred
to the small size of the image rather than
the red paint, and so “miniature”
came to mean small in English.MINIATURE
THE WEEK IN HISTORY
On February 6, 1988, Michael Jordan of
the Chicago Bulls made his famous slam
dunk during the National Basketball
Association’s Dunk Contest. He leaped
from the free throw line to make the
basket, reinforcing his nickname of Air
Jordan. The incredible dunk inspired the
Jumpman logo, which later appeared on
Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers.February 6, 1988
Michael Jordan makes famous slam dunkSupreme Court justice announces retirement
Michael
JordanJustice Stephen BreyerThe Court’s term of work is often
referred to as “Supreme Court
season.” It begins the fi rst Monday
of October. For nine months,
the justices listen to arguments
from all sides of a case and write
opinions (decisions). In June, the
court issues its opinions for most
of the term’s big cases before
adjourning for the summer.Supreme Court season
DID YOU
KNOW?
The oldest person to serve
as a Supreme Court justice was
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.,
who was 90 when he
retired in 1932.