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Quiz about Justice Stephen Breyer
Quiz about Justice Stephen Breyer

Justice Stephen Breyer Trivia Quiz

This quiz is on Steven Breyer, who was appointed to the Court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. What do you know about his life and career?

A multiple-choice quiz by Joepetz. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Joepetz
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
376,315
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
249
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Question 1 of 10
1. Stephen Breyer attended high school with which colleague, who would later be elected governor of California in 1974, 1978, 2010 and 2014? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. Breyer's wife, Joanna Freda Hare, is a member of the British Royal Family who removed herself from the line of succession to the British Throne to marry Breyer.


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Question 3 of 10
3. Breyer clerked for which Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, who was also U.S. Secretary of Labor and Ambassador to the United Nations, in 1964? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. In 1970, Breyer wrote a book that was critical of what policy that at the time was controversial and questionable to many people? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. In 1994, Bill Clinton appointed Breyer to the Supreme Court to replace which liberal justice who authored the Roe v. Wade decision? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. Breyer wrote the majority opinion for the Court in Tory v. Cochran, a libel case involving former O.J Simpson attorney Johnny Cochran, who sued a former client for libel. Tory, the client, was forbidden to speak about Cochran again as punishment for losing the case. Tory appealed believing the ruling violated his First Amendment right to free speech. How did Breyer rule? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. Stephen Breyer wrote a dissenting opinion in United States v. Booker in 2005, a case that said that judges did not have to abide by what? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. Stephen Breyer spent 4,199 days, or nearly eleven and a half years, as what; the second-longest in American history up to that point? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. Breyer's 2005 book "Active Liberty" is seen as the liberal response to which conservative justice's book "A Matter of Interpretation"? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. With his dissenting opinion in the 2015 case Glossip v. Gross, Justice Breyer, along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg who joined him, became the first Supreme Court Justice ever to say that the death penalty was unconstitutional.



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Stephen Breyer attended high school with which colleague, who would later be elected governor of California in 1974, 1978, 2010 and 2014?

Answer: Jerry Brown

 The two often debated each other while on the Lowell Forensic society, the high school's debate team. After high school, Breyer studied philosophy at Stanford and law at Harvard. He also earned a degree from Oxford.
2. Breyer's wife, Joanna Freda Hare, is a member of the British Royal Family who removed herself from the line of succession to the British Throne to marry Breyer.

Answer: False

Hare is not a member of the British Royal Family, but her family is considered to be part of the British aristocracy. Her father is John Hare, who was a minor nobleman and British politician.
3. Breyer clerked for which Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, who was also U.S. Secretary of Labor and Ambassador to the United Nations, in 1964?

Answer: Arthur Goldberg

 Goldberg was a close friend of John Kennedy, who appointed him Labor Secretary and Supreme Court Justice. Lyndon Johnson appointed Goldberg to be Ambassador at the U.N. so he could appoint Abe Fortas to the Court.

After his clerkship for Goldberg, Breyer worked on the Warren Commission, which looked into the Kennedy Assassination, and for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Watergate Scandal.
4. In 1970, Breyer wrote a book that was critical of what policy that at the time was controversial and questionable to many people?

Answer: Copyright expansion

 The book was called "The Uneasy Case for Copyright". In it, Breyer argued that it was not beneficial to extend the duration of copyrights of works as was being pushed by various industries at the time. Breyer said that increasing how long a copyright lasts bears no connection to increased sales, as industries had claimed and that exclusive rights would only have a minimal increase in sales.
5. In 1994, Bill Clinton appointed Breyer to the Supreme Court to replace which liberal justice who authored the Roe v. Wade decision?

Answer: Harry Blackmun

 Breyer is considered to have a similar judicial philosophy to Blackmun. He also was appointed to the same Court seat as Arthur Goldberg, for whom he clerked. Breyer was considered for the seat vacated by Byron White in 1993, but that spot went to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
6. Breyer wrote the majority opinion for the Court in Tory v. Cochran, a libel case involving former O.J Simpson attorney Johnny Cochran, who sued a former client for libel. Tory, the client, was forbidden to speak about Cochran again as punishment for losing the case. Tory appealed believing the ruling violated his First Amendment right to free speech. How did Breyer rule?

Answer: The punishment was unconstitutional because Cochran died between the time of the original sentence and when the Court heard the appeal

 Because Cochran had died, Breyer ruled that the restriction on Tory's future speech was an unconstitutional prior restraint. Breyer did not rule on whether or not the punishment would have been okay if Cochran was still alive. The ruling is consistent with other libel laws, which state that one cannot libel a dead person because they could not be damaged by the speech in any way.
7. Stephen Breyer wrote a dissenting opinion in United States v. Booker in 2005, a case that said that judges did not have to abide by what?

Answer: Federal Sentencing Guidelines

 The case particularly unusual and personal for Breyer as he had helped establish the Federal Sentencing Guidelines when he was a circuit court judge. In United States v. Booker, the majority of the Court said the guidelines were just guidelines and they did not have to be followed when sentencing a convict, even if they were recommended. Breyer, in his dissenting opinion, stated that the guidelines were necessary to ensure uniform sentencing across the country and that defendants could be assured they were receiving a fair sentence and not at the mercy of whoever the judge happened to be for their case.
8. Stephen Breyer spent 4,199 days, or nearly eleven and a half years, as what; the second-longest in American history up to that point?

Answer: The most junior justice on the Court

 Breyer's record was surpassed at that time only by Joseph Story who served at the beginning of the 19th century. As the least senior justice, Breyer often did not write opinions in landmark cases as those were taken by justices above him. Also, traditionally, the most junior justice acts as a gopher of sorts to the others when they meet in private to discuss the cases and make their decision. Breyer was relieved of this position when Samuel Alito took his seat in 2006. Chief Justice John Roberts was appointed after Breyer, but as the chief justice, he ranks first in seniority.
9. Breyer's 2005 book "Active Liberty" is seen as the liberal response to which conservative justice's book "A Matter of Interpretation"?

Answer: Antonin Scalia

 Breyer argued that the "founding fathers" wrote the Constitution with the idea that liberty was absolute for all people. He also stated that the Constitution should be interpreted with modern-day philosophies to give people more rights and freedom. Scalia had criticized liberals in "A Matter of Interpretation" for not adhering to an originalist philosophy. Scalia said liberals were distorting the Constitution by creating nonexistent rights the founding fathers had not intended. Breyer responded that by using Scalia's philosophy, the American people have a limited say in their government as all important matters would have been delegated and decided centuries before.
10. With his dissenting opinion in the 2015 case Glossip v. Gross, Justice Breyer, along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg who joined him, became the first Supreme Court Justice ever to say that the death penalty was unconstitutional.

Answer: False

The statement is wrong for two reasons. Breyer actually stated that the death penalty was probably unconstitutional, but it needed further debate and litigation. Also, in Furman v. Georgia, both justices William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall stated outright that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment and thus unconstitutional.
Source: Author Joepetz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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This quiz is part of series U.S. Supreme Court Justice:

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  3. Justice Anthony Kennedy Average
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  9. Justice Elena Kagan Average

Referenced Topics
History   World   People   Government   Philosophy   California   Supreme Court   Assassinations   Georgia   U.S. Supreme Court Justices   United Nations   White   Brown  

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