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| Kennedy held the deciding vote on issues like affirmative action, gay rights, abortion, second amendment, campaign finance and the rights of voters |
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring At The End Of July
Kennedy’s 30-year liberal reign coming to a close, he could have bowed out sooner, which makes his decision to stay a bonus for Trump
The Supreme Court shockingly announced on Wednesday that Justice Anthony Kennedy will be retiring from the bench, effective at the end of July. This marks the end of a 30-year appointment for the 81-year-old Justice, known for high profile liberal rulings.
Kennedy held the deciding vote on issues like affirmative action, gay rights, abortion, second amendment, campaign finance and the rights of voters. Left-leaning pundits urged Kennedy to step down during the Obama administration so he could be replaced by Obama, but Kennedy was convinced Hillary would win and blew the chance for Democrats.
President Donald Trump was informed of Kennedy’s planned departure, warmly describing the liberal justice as “a man of tremendous vision.” His search for a replacement has already started.
Until a replacement fills the vacancy the highest court will be evenly split with four Democrat-appointed jurists and four seated by Republicans. President Trump is expected to choose somebody conservative, which will give the court a slightly rightward tilt.
When it comes time for confirmation hearings, Republicans hold a slight majority in the Senate, which approves the appointment. Democrats are expected to put up a fuss but there isn’t much they can do. “Democrats can’t delay confirmation.”
Just after President Trump took office, he had the opportunity to add Justice Neil Gorsuch to the bench in April 2017. If the same fast track procedure is followed, Trump will be able to seat his rare second pick “within weeks.”
Experts say that the President is expected to “name a nominee within weeks, setting in motion a process that could allow confirmation of a new justice by early August.”
President Trump already has a short list of twenty-five names. Most are currently judges with Utah Senator Mike Lee (R-Ut.) the only legislator.
Some of the names highest on the list include Pennsylvania judge Thomas Hardiman and Alabama’s William Pryor who were both in the running for Gorsuch’s appointment. Judge Brett Kavanaugh is also under high consideration.
Kavanaugh might have a slight edge over the field because he has served as a law clerk to Justice Kennedy. After that, he was “a key member of independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s team that produced the report that served as the basis for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
When it comes time to choose Kennedy’s replacement, reproductive rights will be the key point of contention. Kennedy was a huge supporter of abortion and President Trump has already firmly promised that he wants to choose justices willing to “overturn the landmark abortion rights case of Roe v. Wade.”
Replacing Kennedy will be a step in that direction but fully overturning the landmark decision will still be a challenge. With the mix at a conservative 5 to liberal 4, it is much more likely that “a more conservative court might be more willing to sustain abortion restrictions.”
If anything happens to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, all bets are off. If President Trump gets to replace her too, that would tilt the court even further right with a 6-3 majority. Ginsburg is the oldest on the Supreme court, at 85. Right behind her is another liberal justice. Stephen Breyer is 79 this year.
Even the youngest liberal on the bench, Sonia Sotomayor, is at risk due to her diabetes. She just got out of the hospital from breaking her shoulder in four places in a fall. Earlier in the year, her diabetes caused a scare when her blood sugar level got too low.
It is going to be a bloody fight on the Senate floor over Kennedy’s replacement. Including Arizona’s Senator John McCain who suffers from severe health concerns, Republicans hold a 51-49 majority. If, as usual, Democrats come together in unanimous opposition it would only take the loss of one Republican vote to tie.
Vice President Mike Pence gets the deciding tie-breaking vote in those situations.
Justice Kennedy penned each and every one of the “major gay-rights decisions, including the 2015 ruling that declared same-sex marriage is a constitutional right nationwide.”
Rumors have been swirling for months that Kennedy might be considering this move but he has played it very close to the vest. He already picked out his four law clerks for the October term. Several of his former clerks think that his timing was surprisingly calculated.
Despite his left-leaning legal philosophy, Kennedy was appointed by a Republican, Ronald Reagan. Insiders say he prefers being replaced by a Republican because “control of the Senate is at stake in the November elections, and if Democrats capture the majority, Trump could find it difficult to get his choice confirmed.”
If everything goes smoothly and according to plan, there is no reason why Justice Kennedy’s replacement can’t be ready for the October start of the new session. Because the rules were changed to expedite Justice Gorsuch’s appointment, Democrats can no longer delay with a filibuster so the higher burden of needing 60 votes won’t come into play.
Source:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Here
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