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Many veteran court watchers say they have detected subtle hints in his recent appearances and writings that Breyer may not be imminently prepared to call it quits. He has also hired a full slate of clerks for the fall term.

Last month in a speech at Harvard, Breyer warned against politicization of the Court and insisted that justices are not beholden to the presidents that appointed them or a political party -- a speech some have interpreted as a signal that the politics of the moment, with President Biden in the White House and Democratic control of the U.S. Senate, may not weigh heavily on his thinking.

\"[Ideology] is not the job,\" Breyer said.

As the court prepares to revisit longstanding precedents next term on abortion and gun rights, Breyer -- who has voted among the fewest times to overturn precedent among the court's current members -- insisted that following established rulings is important for credibility and stability.

\"The law might not be perfect,\" he said. \"But if you're changing it all the time, people won't know what to do. And the more you change it, the more people will ask to have it changed. And the more the court hears that, the more they'll change it.\"

\"Can't say 'never' [change precedent],\" Breyer said, \"but be careful.\"

The conversation was livestreamed by the Constitution Center to hundreds of high school and college civics students tuning in online. Rosen asked Breyer about the future of American democracy and whether the \"experiment\" will succeed in light of recent events.

\"We are still an experiment,\" he said. \"I am basically optimistic. I don't know how much that's justified.\"

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