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Stephen Gerald Breyer, May 19, 2016, in Washington. Brendan Smialowski / AFP

He is one of nine judges at the US Supreme Court, the highest court in the country. A little over a month after the swearing in of Judge Kavanaugh, who divided American society, Judge Stephen Breyer, 80, granted an exclusive interview to RFI during his visit to Paris, on the occasion of 70th anniversary of the Franco-American Fulbright Commission on November 15th.

RFI : Judge Stephen Breyer, you've been in the Supreme Court for nearly 25 years, you were appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1994. At the symposium organized by the Franco-American Fulbright Commission, in which you participated you have taken the Constitution of the United States out of your pocket. Do you still have it on you when you're traveling ?

Stephen Breyer : Normally, yes. Partly, because I work with, and also because I never know when I am going to ask a question, thinking that I know the answer! (laughs) So I'm consulting her. That's why I take it everywhere!

You have published several books that shed light on the decision-making process in the Supreme Court. In particular, you write that the greatest danger for a judge is " not to stand up to the pressure of public opinion ". Has the Internet and social networks not multiplied this weight of public opinion ?

The easy part of your question is that Supreme Court justices, like judges in other courts, do not judge on the basis of their opinions. They do not make decisions based on what the public is saying. So public opinion does not affect the Court in the short term. Now, in the very long run - that's the hard part of your question - it's important to remember that it's the presidents who appoint the judges. This means that the Court will respond well a little, in the very long term, to public opinion. Case law has, for example, changed a little after the appointment of judges by Franklin Roosevelt. This has responded, in the long term, to a need to put an end to segregation. It was at this point that segregation was found unconstitutional.

I do not think it is a bad thing to have different presidents appoint Supreme Court justices. We must not focus on the surface differences, but rather on the profound differences in their way of seeing the law. This system has helped to preserve over the centuries the strength of our Constitution and the confidence that the people have in it.

You also wrote about the " political temptation " of judges. Is that not a risk, when you know that all the judges appointed by the Republican Presidents come from the same pool, the same association of conservative lawyers, the Federalist Society ?

If judges try to be politicians, that's a mistake. They are not. And when they try, they are terrible politicians. For example, the Dred Scott decision of 1857. It said that former slaves were not citizens of the United States and could not even complain. I think that at that time, Supreme Court President Roger Brooke Taney thought it would prevent the Civil War. If it was a political judgment, he was 100% wrong! So you see, we are bad politicians. It reminds me of this quote, when the Duke d'Enghien is executed in France: [In French] " It's worse than a crime, it's a fault ".

You speak both English and French. Where did this francophilia come from ?

[In French] I do not know ... I spent two summers in France when I was 17 years old. Especially a summer in Besançon, where Victor Hugo was born. It's pretty, it's wonderful! And later, 20 years ago, the ambassador in Washington advised me to read half an hour each day in French. And I've been doing it ever since. In any case, I try to do it!

For our third discussion, we have the immense honor of welcoming US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, as well as the French Minister of Education. Our moderator is Antoine Garapon. pic.twitter.com/vAfUEFXL7f

Fulbright-France (@FulbrightFrance) November 15, 2018

Judge Breyer, it is the State that validates the choice of presidents to appoint a particular judge to the Supreme Court. Is the composition, and thus the nature of the decisions of the Supreme Court, not influenced by the fact that each state elects two senators, regardless of its size and population? Do you think the Supreme Court is representative today ?

It is the Constitution that says every state has two senators. And so ... every state has two senators! I am not the qualified person to answer you, because at the time of my confirmation, I was not the person who confirmed, but the one who was confirmed. But I assure you that when these judges make a decision, once they are confirmed, they do it in their soul and conscience.

At the time, by the way, I thought it was a very stressful confirmation process, even if it was nothing compared to what it is today. It was stressful, but it is also a window through which a nation, based on democratic principles, gives the people the opportunity to make judgments about who will be sent to that position like it or not.

At the time you were easily confirmed by the Senate. What is your view on the complexity of the confirmation of the one who has just joined you, Judge Kavanaugh, and especially on the media coverage of the process ?

These are exactly the kinds of questions I can not answer. It's like asking for the chicken mustard recipe ... chicken itself! (laughs) If people do not like the way this happens, they have the choice: the choice to elect someone else, other senators. That's what I say to my students. I tell them: " If you do not like the political divisions that appear in our country, if you think that everyone is acting in a way that creates controversy, I'll tell you where to look first : in the mirror ! After looking in the mirror, ask yourself, " Am I an integral part of the problem or am I the solution ? Am I listening to others or not ? And then, you have to participate in public life, where you will have the opportunity to convince others.

The youth participation rate increased in the mid-term elections on November 6th ?

Yes and it's great! Because voting is the first thing to do.

Has the atmosphere changed in your 25 years at the Supreme Court ?

Yes. At each new appointment of judge, the Court is different. Because the interactions between judges change. But people get along. I have never heard bursts of voice, anger, in the conference room. Never. I have never heard a judge say anything scornful or insulting to another. Even for laughs. So that will continue. But of course, the relationships we can have, the way we argue, the way we express ourselves, all of this changes when a new person arrives.

Judge Anthony Kennedy retired in 2018. Did it occur to you, Judge Breyer, to take yours ? Or will you continue to follow your father's advice of " stay on the payroll ", which could be translated as " keep your payroll " ?

Yes that's it. I'll keep my payroll ... Anyway, until I can not do the job!