U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has largely remained out of the spotlight since he retired from America's highest judicial body in 2022.

Yet in a major reversal, the left-leaning jurist recently revealed that he will be returning to the bench. 

Breyer to hear cases on 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

According to Reuters, Breyers made the announcement during an appearance on an episode of the "Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt" podcast.

"I'm a judge," said Breyers, who was nominated to the Supreme Court by then-President Bill Clinton in 1994 after Justice Byron White retired. He was succeeded by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in June of 2022.

"If you take senior status, you remain a judge. And not only you remain a judge in terms of status, but probably next fall I will go over and sit with the 1st Circuit," he explained.

Reuters noted how the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals published a calendar on Monday which showed Breyers will serve as a member of three-judge panels.

Breyers to hear cases from New England

This will allow the 86-year-old to hear appeals cases originating from New England, representing the first time that Breyers has carried out judicial duties in two and a half years.

One of the cases involves a challenge to rules in the town of Bar Harbor, Maine which limit visits by cruise ship passengers.

Meanwhile, another case concerns the appeal of a $15.5 million civil judgment filed by a former Haitian mayor Jean Morose Viliena.

A Boston federal jury found in March of last year that Viliena was responsible for leading a campaign of murder and torture against political opponents.

Reuters noted that the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals is the smallest of America's 13 appeals courts, hearing cases from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.

Calls for Justice Sotomayor to resign shot down

The Supreme Court received renewed attention following President-elect Donald Trump's election victory, with Fox News reporting that some on the left called for Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step down.

However, the network pointed out that this idea was quickly opposed by Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Whoever makes those calls [for a retirement] can't count," Durbin told Politico. "Take a look at the calendar and tell me how in the world you could achieve that without setting aside the budget and the defense authorization act and all the other things that need to be done?"