Breyer remembers confirmation stress
Even for the most uncontroversial candidate, Supreme Court confirmation hearings are not for the faint of heart – just ask Justice Stephen Breyer.
Breyer, whose nomination by President Clinton was not fiercely opposed, said the experience is still unnerving.
“There are 17 senators on one side of the table, and I’m on the other side. And people are watching me on television, and I’m not used to that,” Breyer said in an interview with TheAtlantic.com.
Breyer also spoke of retiring Justice David Souter, noting that during the 15 years they were bench mates, they were often confused for one another. “I don’t know [why] – maybe because we are both from New England.”
He also acknowledged that the Court splits 5-4 more often now than it used to – and more often than he wishes it did. “It was not so high if you go back three or four years,” he said of the number of 5-4 opinions, “and I would prefer it was not so high.”
