“Distinguished person of the week: A model public servant.” Online at The Washington Post, columnist Jennifer Rubin has an essay that begins, “When Justice Stephen G. Breyer formally announced on Thursday that he would retire at the end of the current Supreme Court term, the public got a glimpse not only into the character of a public servant but also an honorable human being.”

“Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s legacy in administrative law”: This audio segment featuring law professor Adrian Vermeule appeared on this evening’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

“The skirmish is over a new justice. The battle is against the right wing’s imperial judiciary.” Columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has this essay online at The Washington Post.

“Republican Sen. Graham heaps praise on fellow South Carolinian and potential Supreme Court nominee J. Michelle Childs”: Aaron Pellish and Sonnet Swire of CNN have this report.

And online at The Washington Post, James Downie has an essay titled “Lindsey Graham’s shockingly rational answer about the Supreme Court.”

“How Breyer’s replacement could reshape court’s liberal wing”: John Kruzel of The Hill has this report.

“The Supreme Court Needs Diversity in More Ways Than One; No current justice is a public-college alum, and only one was a trial judge”: Law professor Benjamin H. Barton has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.

“When All-White Was All Right”: Online at The New York Times, columnist Charles M. Blow has an essay that begins, “Nominating Supreme Court justices has always been about identity and politics. It’s just that for nearly the first two centuries of the court’s existence, the only people considered for inclusion were white men.”

“Judge Bumatay, A Fil-Am Benchmark”: Anthony Maddela has this profile online at Positively Filipino.

“Judicial Notice (01.29.22): Breyer, Retired; A supremely stupid tweet, a generous gesture from a Biglaw firm, and other legal news from the week that was.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“For Ketanji Brown Jackson, View of Criminal Justice Was Shaped by Family; The story of an uncle’s cocaine conviction formed only part of Judge Jackson’s understanding of the system’s complexities; She is now seen as a contender to be President Biden’s Supreme Court pick”: Patricia Mazzei and Charlie Savage of The New York Times have this report.

“Collins Faults Biden for ‘Clumsy’ Handling of Breyer Replacement; GOP senator calls pledge to pick Black woman overly political; Democrats hope to gain Collins vote for Supreme Court pick”: Erik Wasson and Ian Fisher of Bloomberg News have this report.

“Conservative Justices Are Walking Into Their Own Trap; Today’s Supreme Court majority will struggle to defend the logic of its judicial activism if it overturns Roe v. Wade in the name of judicial restraint”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“Majority of Americans want Biden to consider ‘all possible nominees’ for Supreme Court vacancy: POLL; An ABC News/Ipsos poll says a plurality of the U.S. views the court as partisan.” Brittany Shepherd of ABC News has this report.

You can view the poll results via this link.

“Possible Supreme Court nominee, former defender, saw impact of harsh drug sentence firsthand”: Ann E. Marimow and Aaron C. Davis of The Washington Post have this report.

“White House considering wider list of Supreme Court nominees”: Ariane de Vogue of CNN has this report.

Presumably law professor Melissa Murray would have to leave the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast were she nominated and confirmed.

“Stephen Breyer Versus the Death Penalty: The soon-to-retire justice lost his fight to abolish the death penalty; His courage keeps alive the possibility that some future court might yet win.” Matt Ford has this essay online at The New Republic.

“Will North Carolina GOP use a Jim Crow tactic to reshape high court?” Billy Corriher has this report online at Facing South.

“Clyburn, architect of Biden’s court pledge, pushes his pick”: Meg Kinnard of The Associated Press has this report.

“Justice”: Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner have this post at their “Steady” Substack site.

“The Supreme Court is leading a Christian conservative revolution: Almost as soon as Justice Barrett was confirmed, the Court handed down a revolutionary ‘religious liberty’ case; It hasn’t slowed down since.” Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

“No More Compromisers: The Supreme Court doesn’t need another Stephen Breyer, but someone who can openly confront the immorality of our criminal legal system.” Cristian Farias has this essay online at Inquest.

“The Supreme Court at the Crossroads of Hackery: How will the law work in a world where the high court is making up the rules as it goes along?” Jason Linkins has this essay online at The New Republic.

“Biden Gets Sixth Vacancy on Ninth Circuit with Hurwitz Retiring”: Madison Alder of Bloomberg Law has this report (subscription required for full access).