US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retires

[sprintcyclist]

US SUPREME Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has often cast the tie-breaking vote between the top American court’s liberal and conservative judges, has announced his intention to retire.

Justice Kennedy’s departure at the end of July will give President Donald Trump the chance to appoint a more staunchly conservative judge to the nine-seat bench, potentially spelling a historic swing to the right for the court, which exerts a deep and far-ranging influence on American life.


Mr Trump is likely to appoint a replacement who he believes will support his agendas, such as overturning Roe v. Wade, which granted women legal access to abortion.

Justice Kennedy has mainly supported abortion rights in his time on the court, and Mr Trump has made clear he would try to choose justices who want to overturn the landmark abortion rights case of Roe v. Wade.

Such a dramatic step may not be immediately likely, but a more conservative court might be more willing to sustain abortion restrictions.

“It has been the greatest honour and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those on the Supreme Court,” Justice Kennedy was quoted as saying in a statement announcing his decision.


US Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, 81, is retiring after more than 30 years on the court. Picture: AP
Nominated by president Ronald Reagan, the 81-year-old Kennedy took his oath of office in 1988.

He said his decision to step aside was based on his deep desire to spend more time with his family.

Paying tribute to Kennedy as “a great justice of the Supreme Court,” Mr Trump told reporters the replacement process will “begin immediately.”

“Hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Justice Kennedy’s vote, positioned at the very centre of the court, gives him a place of special prominence among the nine justices.

He has cast the deciding vote in a number of historic cases, including the high court’s groundbreaking decision in 2015 legalising gay marriage, a five-to-four decision for which he wrote the opinion.

Regardless of who replaces him, Kennedy’s departure will be a massive change for the high court, where he has been the crucial swing vote for more than a decade. He has sided with the liberal justices on gay rights and abortion rights, as well as some cases involving race, the death penalty and the rights of people detained without charges at the Guantánamo Bay naval base. He has written all the court’s major gay-rights decisions, including the 2015 ruling that declared same-sex marriage is a constitutional right nationwide.

His departure will give Mr Trump his second Supreme Court pick since arriving at the White House, following the nomination of Neil Gorsuch, and could spell a decisive shift to the right for the top judicial body.

Justice Gorsuch was sworn in April last year to fill a more than year-long vacancy left by the death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia.

Mr Trump is expected to name a nominee within weeks, setting in motion a process that could allow confirmation of a new justice by early August. Mr Trump already has a list of 25 candidates — 24 judges and Utah senator Mike Lee — from which he will choose a nominee.

Prominent on that list are Judges Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania and William Pryor of Alabama, seriously considered for the seat eventually filled by Justice Gorsuch, and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, DC.

Few obstacles seem to stand in the way of confirming Kennedy’s replacement before the court reconvenes in October.

Republicans changed the rules during Gorsuch’s confirmation to wipe out the main delaying tactic for Supreme Court nominees, the filibuster, and the need for 60 votes to defeat it.

The other two older justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, and Stephen Breyer, 79, are Democratic appointees who would not appear to be going anywhere during a Trump administration if they can help it.

Justice Kennedy’s decision came after the court ruled in a pair of landmark cases this week in identical 5-4 votes — ruling that Trump’s immigration ban targeting mostly Muslim-majority countries was legal, and that workers could not be forced to pay public employee union fees.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/business ... b6c5f75f13

[Black Orchid]

Judges should be retired and put out to pasture long before they are 80. They should be retired at 65. Once in their 70s and 80s they really don't have the wherewithal to hold a position to make crucial national decisions.



Just look at Kennedy second from left, bottom row, and Ginsburg next to him. The lights are on but no-one is home. The brain begins to deteriorate as early as 30 and definitely evident after age 50.

65 and out!

[sprintcyclist]

Judges should be retired and put out to pasture long before they are 80. They should be retired at 65. Once in their 70s and 80s they really don't have the wherewithal to hold a position to make crucial national decisions.



Just look at Kennedy second from left, bottom row, and Ginsburg next to him. The lights are on but no-one is home. The brain begins to deteriorate as early as 30 and definitely evident after age 50.

65 and out!

Yes, and one is so old he has even turned black !!

[cods]

Judges should be retired and put out to pasture long before they are 80. They should be retired at 65. Once in their 70s and 80s they really don't have the wherewithal to hold a position to make crucial national decisions.



Just look at Kennedy second from left, bottom row, and Ginsburg next to him. The lights are on but no-one is home. The brain begins to deteriorate as early as 30 and definitely evident after age 50.

65 and out!

well... I dont entirely agree with that... with age comes wisdom.. we surely shouldnt throw that out with the bath water.!!!

if they drink.. and many do....or procrastinate as some do.. then yes move over........

just because we reach a certain NUMBER doesnt mean we are past it..and have nothing to offer.......I would hope and I say HOPE because I have never met a judge.. but I would hope as they age they gain more insight...

[Black Orchid]

Most of these Judges are from the far left and never gain wisdom. They want to swamp the US with illegals and make decisions contrary to the President and it is appalling that they have this power for a lifetime.

Same in Australia where most have been instated by the left and we are stuck with them for decades. They drown us with non working immigrants, let the rapists, murderers and paedophiles off early or just give them a slap on the wrist to begin with.

Why should they keep such a powerful position for life? Who else gets that offered to them? They should either be elected or only be able to hold the position for a set length of time. Not decades!! If this doesn't happen we end up with pompous idiots who think that they, and only they, are always right and just want to bang their delusional gavel. Legends in their own lunch boxes at the expense of the greater community. Sound familiar?

[cods]

the thing is Trump can now put a man from his own side there who could also be there for decades..

it would be almost impossible to get anyone who didnt have a slight bias???????...

I like to think the majority are decent law abiding men and women who put their country first......

it wouldnt be a job for the faint hearted..

[sprintcyclist]

Most of these Judges are from the far left and never gain wisdom. They want to swamp the US with illegals and make decisions contrary to the President and it is appalling that they have this power for a lifetime.

Same in Australia where most have been instated by the left and we are stuck with them for decades. They drown us with non working immigrants, let the rapists, murderers and paedophiles off early or just give them a slap on the wrist to begin with.

Why should they keep such a powerful position for life? Who else gets that offered to them? They should either be elected or only be able to hold the position for a set length of time. Not decades!! If this doesn't happen we end up with pompous idiots who think that they, and only they, are always right and just want to bang their delusional gavel. Legends in their own lunch boxes at the expense of the greater community. Sound familiar?

Bravo !!!

[sprintcyclist]

Most of these Judges are from the far left and never gain wisdom. They want to swamp the US with illegals and make decisions contrary to the President and it is appalling that they have this power for a lifetime.

Same in Australia where most have been instated by the left and we are stuck with them for decades. They drown us with non working immigrants, let the rapists, murderers and paedophiles off early or just give them a slap on the wrist to begin with.

Why should they keep such a powerful position for life? Who else gets that offered to them? They should either be elected or only be able to hold the position for a set length of time. Not decades!! If this doesn't happen we end up with pompous idiots who think that they, and only they, are always right and just want to bang their delusional gavel. Legends in their own lunch boxes at the expense of the greater community. Sound familiar?

Bravo !!!

That is the best posting I have seen for some time.

I did Jury service a few years ago, Judges run a fiefdom, their ego is endless.
The legal system benefits judges, lawyers, police, jails, wealthy or powerful people.
The legal system is not just.


It harms society.

[cods]

I did Jury service a few years ago, Judges run a fiefdom, their ego is endless.
The legal system benefits judges, lawyers, police, jails, wealthy or powerful people.
The legal system is not just.


It harms society.

so what would you replace them with???

[sprintcyclist]

I did Jury service a few years ago, Judges run a fiefdom, their ego is endless.
The legal system benefits judges, lawyers, police, jails, wealthy or powerful people.
The legal system is not just.


It harms society.

so what would you replace them with???

No jury.
Judge only trials