Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer made a rare public appearance at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library Wednesday evening as nearly 550 packed the East Room to hear him talk about his book on the history of Supreme Court decisions, Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View. Special guests in attendance included the deans of Chapman University and University of Southern California Law Schools, Tom Campbell and Robert Rasmussen, both of whom joined the Associate Justice for a gathering in the Library’s Argyros Suite before the talk and signing.
Justice Breyer discussed how – through trial and error – the court has become the vanguard of American democracy and a stabilizing force in the workings of its three-branch government — routinely solving political crises and instilling a formula for civil discourse.
“The greatest thrill for me – which is still there after 17 years – is that I look out at that courtroom and I see people of every race, every religion, and every point of view… “committed to the proposition that they will in fact decide their differences in a courtroom under the law and not in the streets with bricks, stones, and guns,” Justice Breyer said. “And I say that is a national treasure.”
Click here for the report by the Orange County Register.
Click here for the report by the Whittier Daily News.
Click here to order your copy of Making Democracy Work: A Judge’s View.
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