Supreme Court Justice Breyer to Receive Chernin Award at JCPA2022

The Albert D. Chernin Award ceremony will be held virtually on  April 11 at the JCPA2022 National Conference.

JCPA is proud to announce that U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer will receive the 2022 Albert D. Chernin Award, JCPA’s highest honor, given annually to an American Jew whose life work best exemplifies the social justice imperatives of Judaism, Jewish history, and protection of the U.S. Bill of Rights. The award ceremony will be held virtually at the JCPA2022 National Conference on April 11.

Justice Breyer has served more than two decades as a Supreme Court justice, where he cultivated a reputation for pragmatism, optimism, and bipartisanship. Prior to his nomination in 1994, Justice Breyer worked as an assistant prosecutor in the Watergate investigations and later as the Senate Judiciary Committee’s chief counsel before his appointment to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Breyer also taught at Harvard Law School for a number of years, and he remains a guest lecturer.

“Throughout his storied career, Justice Breyer has been guided by the Torah’s emphasis on justice—in Hebrew, tzedek”, said David Bohm, JCPA Board Chair. “We celebrate the achievements of our awardee, whose ideals symbolize the principles embodied by the work of JCPA.”

Past JCPA Chernin Award recipients include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Senator Chuck Schumer, Senator Ron Wyden, Rabbi David Saperstein, Professor Lawrence Tribe, and Senator Barbara Boxer. The award is named for Albert Chernin, Executive Vice Chair of JCPA from 1975-1990, whose leadership had a far-reaching impact on American policy in the areas of church-state, civil rights, immigration, Israel, and Soviet Jewry.

To learn more about JCPA2022, including schedule and the award presentation, click here