Stephen G. Breyer

Stephen Breyer holds the somewhat dubious distinction of being the second-longest junior member of the United States Supreme Court in American history, holding that distinction for some 12 years, until the confirmation of Samuel Alito in 2006. Breyer was the oldest of two sons of Gerald and Anne (nee' Roberts) Breyer, a middle-class Jewish family in San Fransisco. His father was the legal counsel to the San Fransisco Board of Education. Stephen excelled academically and was an Eagle Scout. He was an active participant on his debate team in high school, and had ambitions to be a lawyer. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Stanford University, he earned a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School. In 1964, he served as a law clerk for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, and in 1965, he worked in the anti-trust division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1967, he left the government to become a law professor at his old alma mater of Harvard Law Sch