Photos: Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is photographed at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 2015.
Damon Winter/The New York Times/Redux

In pictures: Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

Updated 1829 GMT (0229 HKT) June 30, 2022

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is photographed at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in September 2015.
Damon Winter/The New York Times/Redux

Stephen Breyer has retired from the US Supreme Court.

The former justice helped swear in his replacement, Ketanji Brown Jackson, on Thursday.

When he first announced his retirement, Breyer said it had been his "great honor" to participate as a judge in the "effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law."

Breyer, 83, was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Before that, he served on the US Court of Appeals for nearly 15 years. He was also a former assistant prosecutor during the Watergate hearings in the 1970s.

"In his 27 years on the high court, Breyer has been a low-profile but crucial player," wrote Joan Biskupic, a CNN legal analyst and Supreme Court biographer. "He is a solid liberal but believes in bridging differences when possible and has tried to find compromise between the right-wing majority and remaining liberals."