Supreme Court

Justice Breyer vs. Stephen Colbert

Justice Breyer shows up on The Late show and ends up yelling at the host...

By Kathryn Rubino on September 15, 2015 9:58 am

Late night network TV isn’t usually where in-depth policy or political conversations take place, but in Stephen Colbert’s second week at the helm of The Late Show, he proves he’s not the same as other hosts. In his first week on CBS, there hasn’t been a hint of the ultra right-wing conservative persona he made famous on Comedy Central, which makes his feat even more impressive.

Ostensibly there to hawk his new book The Court and the World (affiliate link), Justice Stephen Breyer appeared on The Late Show last night — as Colbert put it, “classing up the joint.” Though in his intro of the justice, a similarity to a certain cartoon character was noted.

The interview started congenially (and typically) enough, but it quickly evolved into a conversation about the merits of cameras in the courtroom with this great line:

The Supreme Court is about the last place in America where I couldn’t bring my camera crew in to shoot what the government is doing, to get video of what the government is doing. Why can’t we watch you if the Supreme Court repeatedly rules that we can be watched by the government?

The interview ends with Justice Breyer yelling at Colbert (really) and it’s a fun look at the less formal side of the justice.

Check out the video below for the full interview, and to see why Colbert thinks the justices’ black robes make them look “spooky.”