Justice Stephen Breyer is writing a book that will criticize Democratic-led plans to expand the Supreme Court.
The book, The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics, will come out in September and will look at “how measures to restructure the Court could undermine both the Court and the constitutional system of checks and balances that depends on it,” according to Harvard University Press.
STEPHEN BREYER WARNS DEMOCRATS TO THINK ‘LONG AND HARD’ ABOUT COURT PACKING
Breyer, whom many liberal court watchers are pushing to retire, will dispute the notion that the court has in recent years become “too political” and that the justices themselves have become “politicians in robes.” The justice will warn his readers against the idea that court-packing will bring about an “ideological balance” on the bench.
Rather, Breyer will argue, the only way for the court to regain public trust, and, implicitly, its authority, is if the public understands that the justices do their best to hand down impartial decisions.
“Breyer warns that public trust would be eroded by political intervention, dashing the authority of the Court,” read the Harvard University Press blurb. “Without the public’s trust, the Court would no longer be able to act as a check on the other branches of government and a guarantor of the rule of law, threatening the foundations of our constitutional system.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
At 112 pages, the book is more pamphlet-length. Breyer in the past has written several academic books on regulation, as well as popular books on how the Supreme Court works.
Breyer in April gave a speech at Harvard University, where he warned Democrats to think “long and hard” before attempting a court-packing scheme. Current efforts by some Democratic House members would expand the court’s size from nine to 13, with the goal of diluting the influence of three justices nominated and confirmed by former President Donald Trump.
