U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer was the keynote speaker at the February 16 Forum Club of the Palm Beaches luncheon. Breyer, who was appointed to the nation’s highest court by President Bill Clinton in 1994, gave attendees at the event a bit of a history lesson and also some insight into why he wrote his book, Making a Democracy Work: a Judge's View. The luncheon was a joint meeting of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and the Palm Beach County Bar Association. About a thousand people attended the luncheon, which was followed by a book signing. A number of students from PBCHS and their debate coach, Darryl Hall, also were in attendance at the luncheon. The students asked Breyer some questions during the question and answer session of the luncheon following his remarks.
In beginning his remarks, Breyer spoke about why he had written his book and also about the importance of passing on his teachings and his profession to the younger people in attendance at the luncheon. He also spoke about how suspicious people were about institutions, like the Supreme Court, but as people living in a civilized world, people needed their institutions as a sign of a democracy, and to understand how those institutions worked. Breyer also noted that average working people also needed to possess a working knowledge of what went on in the Supreme Court as well, and that included people who worked nine to five jobs and shopped at the local supermarket.
“People are suspicious of institutions,” said Breyer. “The younger they are, they are more concerned and suspicious. We are 300 million people in this country, and we can’t live without them because we live like human beings do. We do it democratically. Therefore, people have to understand how their institutions work. If they are going to be cynical, let’s put that into perspective, and let’s understand the good as well as the bad. A man and a woman are going into the supermarket, and they have a lot to do. They have children. They may have grandchildren, and they may have a job. I think it’s important enough for people going into the supermarket to understand.”
Historically, Breyer also pointed to Alexander Hamilton as to the main reason why there was an independent judiciary who could set aside a law made by Congress. Breyer explained how Hamilton thought it was a better idea to put the power of the rule of law into the hands of an agency that would not consider that process as part of a popularity contest. Since judges didn’t have much power, thought Hamilton, the decision making process of the interpretation of law was perfect for them, said Breyer.
“Judges have almost no power,” said Breyer. “They don’t have the power of the purse or the power of the sword. They don’t have much power so they won’t exercise it all that often.”
Breyer also explained the difficulties in interpreting and enforcing the laws passed down by the Supreme Court and cited in particular a case in 1832 where the State of Georgia constitution guaranteed that the Cherokee nation would be able to keep their land despite the fact that gold was underneath it. In the end, the Cherokees lost their land, and were sent on a Trail of Tears to Oklahoma where their descendents still lived. The Cherokee nation was a prosperous nation and their future in Wisconsin did not have a happy ending.
“They did what any civilized group, and they did what any civilized group would do,” said Breyer. “They hired a lawyer, and it made its way to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said they knew how unpopular the decision would be, but that the land belongs to the Cherokee Indians. Andrew Jackson sent troops to northern Georgia, but they did not go to enforce the law. They went there to evict the Indians. The Cherokees walked the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma where the descendants still live.”
The case of Brown versus the Board of Education had similar difficulties despite the fact that the ruling came down from the Supreme Court in favor of integration. Following that ruling, he said, there was Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights march, and then finally, integration was accepted in public schools, but it was a hard battle to get it accepted despite the original rulings from the Supreme Court. What’s also important, he said, is that reasonable people can talk through the issues and not resort to violence.
“Go turn on the television,” said Breyer, “and you will see what happens in countries where people solve their serious problems through violence.”
It’s also was important, said Breyer, that the Constitution was a living and breathing document, and not something that would hang on the wall of the National Gallery and it was more than a piece of history. That also meant that the wording in the document had to move along with the times and be adaptive enough to still work in the days of cars, trains, and even the Internet.
“The authors of the Constitution created a document that was not intended to just hang on the wall of the National Gallery,” said Breyer. “The Constitution is never about good against evil. It’s almost always about good versus good. It’s about protecting freedom of expression on the one hand, and fighting to protect privacy on the other.”
The March guest for the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches is Congressman Allen West (R-22). For more information about the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, contact them at (561) 304-0570 or email them at forumclubofpb@aol.com. Check out their website at http://theforumclub.net.
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