Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, has announced that he is retiring from the Supreme Court.
Described as “the court’s most important member,” he has been the perennial swing vote, sometimes voting for the liberal side and sometimes voting for the conservative side. Justice Kennedy was the author of the decision legalizing gay marriage, as well as the recent decision in the wedding-cake case upholding religious freedom.
Replacing Justice Kennedy will give President Trump the opportunity to stack the Supreme Court with conservative jurists. This prospect will doubtless energize partisans on both sides.
From Jacob Pramuk & Marty Steinberg:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced Wednesday he’s retiring at the end of July, giving President Donald Trump another chance to fundamentally reshape the highest court in the land.
In a statement, the Supreme Court said the 81-year-old Kennedy will step down effective July 31. The judge called it “the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years in the Supreme Court.” Kennedy wants to spend more time with his family, even though they were content with him staying on the court.
He also sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday notifying the president of his decision.
“For a member of the legal profession, it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court,” he wrote. “Please permit me by this letter to express my profound gratitude for having had the privilege to seek in each case how best to know, interpret and defend the Constitution and the laws that must always conform to its mandates and promises.
The president’s first nominee to the court, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, has already had an enormous effect on U.S. policy in narrowly-decided rulings this week related to Trump’s ban on travel from certain countries, abortion and labor unions. The president said his next choice would come from a previously released list of 25 candidates. Possible candidates when Trump chose a replacement for the late arch conservative Antonin Scalia included Appeals Judges Thomas Hardiman and William Pryor, among others.
Replacing Kennedy with a conservative could have a massive long-term effect on the highest U.S. court. His decision to leave will have huge implications for the midterm elections, as Democrats and Republicans battle for control of the Senate. The chamber confirms Supreme Court justices.
A Supreme Court vacancy could serve to motivate voters, as a young justice would have a chance to serve for decades. Democratic control of the Senate may force Trump to make a more moderate choice for the seat.
Senate Republicans will try to fill Kennedy’s seat before November. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that “we will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall.”
[Keep reading. . .]
Photo, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States (Anthony Kennedy – The Oyez Project) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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