NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
NEW BRUNSWICK – Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will make a special appearance at the 2025 NJSBA Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City for a captivating discussion on the judicial philosophy that informed his nearly three decades on the nation’s highest court.
The May 16 program, moderated by retired state Supreme Court Associate Justice Barry T. Albin, will center on themes in Justice Breyer’s latest book “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism.” Together, these two titans of jurisprudence will dissect the pragmatic approach to interpreting the Constitution and the competing judicial philosophy – textualism – which guides decisions from the current court.
NJSBA President William H. Mergner Jr. invites registrants of the Annual Meeting to seize this unique opportunity to hear from one of the most accomplished and respected legal minds in the nation.
“The NJSBA is honored to host Justice Breyer and looks forward to the wisdom he will share from his many years of distinguished service to our country, its citizens and the practice of law,” Mergner said. “He is the consummate jurist, whose judgement on society’s most consequential questions has profoundly shaped the way we view our fundamental rights.”
The discussion with Justice Breyer’s is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday, May 16 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The program will follow the annual State of the Judiciary addresses from New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb.
“The educational programming at the Annual Meeting and Convention is always second to none. Justice Breyer will elevate this year’s event for the benefit of all New Jersey legal professionals. Attendees will have a rare window into the constitutional analysis that drives our profession,” said Incoming NJSBA President Christine A. Amalfe.
Thousands of judges, lawyers, law clerks and law students are expected to attend the three-day educational and networking event, held at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa from May 14-16. Legal colleagues from across the state will have the chance to connect over seminars, speeches and networking programs that cover issues in a wide range of practice areas.
This year’s agenda will include more than 100 seminars for attendees to earn CLE credits in programming that spans nearly every practice area. Dozens of sitting and retired judges from every federal and state bench in New Jersey, along with top public officials and legal thought leaders, are slated to speak at seminars throughout the week.
Justice Breyer was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Clinton in 1994 and served for 28 years until his retirement in 2022. He has also worked as a Supreme Court law clerk for Justice Arthur Goldberg, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, an assistant Watergate special prosecutor and chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In 1980, Justice Breyer was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, becoming chief judge in 1990. He has written books and articles about a range of legal topics, including administrative law, economic regulation, and the Constitution. His books include “Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution,” “Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View,” “The Court and the World: American Law and the New Global Realities,” and “The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics.” Justice Breyer has taught law for many years as a professor at Harvard Law School and at the Kennedy School of Government.
Visit njsba.com to learn more about the Annual Meeting and Convention and register.