Because Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned from the Supreme Court, that means somebody is going to replace her, even if we don't know who it is yet. (And even if it takes more than one try to get enough votes in the Senate to do so. :)
So, when that replacement comes along, they'll be most junior, and Breyer will move up one rung in seniority.
Aside from the question of who makes the coffee, seniority matters on the Court because it determines who gets to assign which Justice writes a particular opinion. If the Chief Justice is in the majority, they make the assignment; if the Chief is in the minority, the assignment task goes to the most senior Justice who is in the majority. (Usually Justice Stevens, though not always.)
This can have a very big impact because each Justice writes opinions in an individual enough way that one can strongly influence the nuts and bolts of the law by who writes the decision.
Breyer isn't likely to be in the position of making such assignments anytime soon, since even when the new Justice gets there, Breyer'll only be number 8 of 9 in seniority. But, he will be one step closer.
I'm not sure if I'm being clear enough here, but if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to try to answer.
Re: Coffee
Because Sandra Day O'Connor has resigned from the Supreme Court, that means somebody is going to replace her, even if we don't know who it is yet. (And even if it takes more than one try to get enough votes in the Senate to do so. :)
So, when that replacement comes along, they'll be most junior, and Breyer will move up one rung in seniority.
Aside from the question of who makes the coffee, seniority matters on the Court because it determines who gets to assign which Justice writes a particular opinion. If the Chief Justice is in the majority, they make the assignment; if the Chief is in the minority, the assignment task goes to the most senior Justice who is in the majority. (Usually Justice Stevens, though not always.)
This can have a very big impact because each Justice writes opinions in an individual enough way that one can strongly influence the nuts and bolts of the law by who writes the decision.
Breyer isn't likely to be in the position of making such assignments anytime soon, since even when the new Justice gets there, Breyer'll only be number 8 of 9 in seniority. But, he will be one step closer.
I'm not sure if I'm being clear enough here, but if you have any questions, I'm more than happy to try to answer.