Supreme Court shouldn't be Ivy League-heavy, 2 lawmakers say

Eight of the nine current Supreme Court members went to law school at either Harvard or Yale. But it would be good if the person who replaces retiring Justice Stephen Breyer doesn’t have an Ivy League degree, according to Jim Clyburn and Lindsey Graham.

Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to make history by nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Clyburn, Congress’ highest-ranking Black member, says Biden should be concerned about the court’s lack of educational diversity, too. Ivy League pedigrees and appellate court experience are two things broadly shared by justices currently on the Supreme Court. (AP Graphic) ( ) Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer holds up a copy of the United States Constitution as he announces his retirement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) ( ) Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., alongside other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, stands in front of the Senate chambers to voice his support of voting rights legislation at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File) ( ) Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. District Court, listens during her nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) ( ) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a news conference outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Graham and Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn say it would be good if the person named to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer doesn’t have an Ivy League degree. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) ( )

"We run the risk of creating an elite society," said Clyburn, a graduate of South Carolina State University. "We’ve got to recognize that people come from all walks of life, and we ought not dismiss anyone because of that."

Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings for the eventual nominee, said Sunday on CBS’ "Face the Nation": "I’d like to see the court to have a little more balance, some common sense on it. Everybody doesn’t have to be from Harvard and Yale. It’s OK to go to a public university and get your law degree."