Breyer was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force from August,1973 to November,1974[5] and then entered private practice in San Francisco from 1974 to 1997,interrupted by a brief stint again as chief assistant district attorney of the City and County of San Francisco in 1979.
Breyer presided over the Ed Rosenthal trial in 2007,a federal prosecution for distribution of marijuana for medical use. This case was controversial because Breyer sentenced Rosenthal,who faced a possible sentence of 100 years for growing marijuana,to just one day in prison.[12] He also presided over the stock-options backdating trial of Brocade Communications Systems CEO Gregory Reyes in 2007.
In 2014,he ruled against the city of San Francisco's legislation to protect tenants from Ellis Act evictions.[13] He presided over the 2014 criminal case involving San Francisco police theft[14] and racist texting,in which his court order was blamed for the delay in releasing information.[15]
Following the Volkswagen emissions scandal,Breyer had approved a $16.5 billion settlement for US consumers. Volkswagen agreed to redeem an estimated 475,000 diesel automobiles in the US.[16]
In 2025,he ruled against the Trump administration's federalization of the California National Guard in Newsom v. Trump,[17] but the administration appealed and a stay of the ruling was issued hours later.[18] Later,he ruled the administration not to use National Guard or military troops for civilian law enforcement in California.[19]
Personal life
Breyer was married to the late Sydney Goldstein,[20] who founded City Arts &Lectures in San Francisco in 1980 and in whose honor the Nourse Theater was renamed after her death in 2018.[21]
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