Reason

ONE CHEER FOR STEPHEN BREYER

WHEN PRESIDENT BILL Clinton tapped Stephen Breyer to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1994, he told the country Breyer would “strike the right balance between the need for discipline and order, being firm on law enforcement issues but really sticking in there for the Bill of Rights.”

Breyer’s impending retirement at the close of the Supreme Court’s current term provides an opportunity to weigh Clinton’s words against Breyer’s record. Alas, the former president proved only half right. Breyer was frequently “firm” in his deference to the

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