ACLU Statement on Justice Breyer Retirement

WASHINGTON — In response to U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement, ACLU National Legal Director David Cole issued the following statement:

“Justice Breyer has long been a voice for civil liberties, human dignity, the right to vote, good governance, and the reasoned evolution of constitutional law. Just last term, in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., Justice Breyer’s majority decision made it clear that young people and students across the country must have substantial free speech rights outside of school, even if their expression is unpopular.

“He leaves the court as a great dissenter, one who spoke powerfully and eloquently to the injustice of the current court’s majority, and to a better and more just way forward. His powerful dissent in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, and his joint dissent, with Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, are models of persuasion, clarity, and vision, and will leave a legacy long beyond his tenure.”