It’s that time of the year again: Supreme Court retirement speculation!
And for what seems like the hundredth time in the past year, Washington is abuzz with the rumor that Anthony Kennedy – the Ronald Reagan-appointed, the libertarian-leaning swing vote on the Court – is considering retiring.
Kennedy is reportedly thinking about leaving the Court in order to ensure a conservative judge takes his place.
The Hill reports:
All eyes are on Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, who reportedly considered calling it quits last spring. As the court’s current term winds to a close, speculation about his plans has again swept the capital, with court watchers searching for clues.
Those who say Kennedy is here to stay — at least for now — point to the fact that he’s already hired his law clerks for the next term, as Above the Law reported.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retirement rumors shift into overdrive https://t.co/fv0VIUYwrj via @thehill #SCOTUS #Law
— Peter J. Gregory (@PeterJGregory) May 21, 2018
Ian Samuel, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, says one of the biggest clues hinting of an imminent Kennedy retirement is that the Court only accepted 15 cases for the next term. Here’s what he said: “One possibility is they are not granting cases because they don’t know who their ninth member is going to be. … You could imagine Kennedy telling the chief, ‘I’d like to keep this between us, but I’d like to retire,’ and the chief saying, ‘Let’s see who Kennedy’s replacement is before we grant all these cases.'”
There’s been strong speculation that Kennedy has been readying to retire for a while now. In fact, take a look below at our recent reporting on the rumor:
- May 1, 2017 – Conservatives Expect Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to Retire in Coming Months
- June 23, 2017 – Justice Anthony Kennedy To Retire As Early as Monday (Report)
- August 1, 2017 – Roger Stone Says Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Could Retire “Any Minute Now”
- March 9, 2018 – Heller: Justice Kennedy To Retire This Summer
If Kennedy were to retire, conservatives should embrace his departure. While he’s a libertarian on economic issues, Kennedy’s has been known to side with liberals on social issue cases, most notably in the Obergefell case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
We still don’t know what Kennedy’s exact plans are. But we know that widespread rumors like this don’t come from anywhere. Kennedy will likely retire by the end of Trump’s first term. That means the President will get to place another conservative judge on the High Court.
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What do you think? Is Anthony Kennedy going to retire soon? Tell us your thoughts below!
