Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, didn’t start his talk Friday morning by discussing his accomplishments.
Instead, he focused on a title he earned at birth.
"Hi. I’m Shirley’s nephew,” he said to a packed room at the Magnolia of Millbrae Friday morning.
Breyer, who grew up in San Francisco, was stopping in at the full-service senior assisted living community to visit his aunt, Shirley Breyer Black. Before taking time with his family, Breyer spoke with the residents and answered a handful of questions that had been previously submitted.
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First, Breyer took the time to explain the basics of his job which consist of two things: Deciding which cases to hear, then ruling on those cases.
While millions of cases are heard in courts throughout the nation, only a small percentage makes it to Breyer and the other justices. Essentially, he explained, the court looks at cases dealing with federal law. More specifically, he looks for cases about which judges have previously disagreed. It’s with those types of cases, he said, that the Supreme Court is truly valuable.
Democracy is an interesting approach to solving problems. People argue all the time. Many resolve the arguments prior to needing a courtroom, he said. Even though not everyone agrees with decisions made, Breyer is happy to live in a place where issues are worked out through the court rather than with violence in the streets, he said.
Heather Murtagh can be reached by email: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.
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