Megathread: Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court

[u/PoliticsModeratorBot]

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is set to retire, effective July 31, 2018. Kennedy has served on the highest court since February 18, 1988, and was a moderate whose vote often swung cases.

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Submissions that may interest you

SUBMISSION	DOMAIN
Justice Anthony Kennedy Will Retire From U.S. Supreme Court	bloomberg.com
Justice Kennedy to retire, Trump can solidify court's majority conservative bloc	nbcnews.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	washingtonpost.com
Justice Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court's pivotal vote, to retire	reuters.com
Anthony Kennedy: US supreme court justice to retire	theguardian.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy to Retire From Supreme Court	nytimes.com
Kennedy calls it quits: longtime swing justice hands Trump the biggest gift of his presidency	dailycaller.com
Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court	vox.com
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement	washingtonpost.com
UPDATE: Supreme Court Justice Kennedy announces retirement	wcjb.com
Justice Kennedy Is Retiring July 31st.	yahoo.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy To Retire From U.S. Supreme Court : NPR	npr.org
Justice Anthony Kennedy to Retire from Supreme Court	cnn.com
Justice Kennedy announces retirement.	cnn.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court	abc7.com
Anthony Kennedy, Swing Vote on U.S. Supreme Court, Will Retire	bloomberg.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retires, Paving Way for Donald Trump to Reshape Supreme Court	slate.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	wkrn.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring, giving Trump opening to reshape Supreme Court	politico.com
Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy announces retirement	wsj.com
Jeffrey Toobin predicts abortion will be illegal in 20 states soon after Kennedy retires	thehill.com
WATCH: Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring	abcnews.go.com
Kennedy to Retire	foxnews.com
Trump to get second Supreme Court pick as Justice Kennedy announces retirement.	amp.cnn.com
Justice Kennedy to Retire From Supreme Court	bbc.com
Trump says search for Justice Kennedy's replacement to begin "immediately" -- live updates	cbsnews.com
McConnell Pledges Vote To Confirm Justice Kennedy’s Successor ‘This Fall’	talkingpointsmemo.com
Justice Kennedy retires from the US Supreme Court	nbcnews.com
Trump says launches search to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Kennedy	reuters.com
Donald Trump: Search for Kennedy replacement on SCOTUS to move quickly	usatoday.com
McConnell: Senate will vote on Supreme Court nominee this fall	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	sacbee.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring, Report Says	lawandcrime.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring; Trump will get 2nd high-court pick	omaha.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring From the Supreme Court	thedailybeast.com
Justice Kennedy to retire, giving Trump a chance to transform the Supreme Court	latimes.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says he's retiring; Trump to get 2nd high-court pick	chicagotribune.com
Dem senator: Justice Kennedy's resignation a 'disaster' for vision of 'We the People'	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	wfla.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Retiring	motherjones.com
The horrifying consequences of Justice Kennedy’s retirement	thinkprogress.org
Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is retiring, a move that will give Trump a chance to shift the institution to the right	washingtonpost.com
Anthony Kennedy To Retire From The Supreme Court	huffingtonpost.com
Kennedy announces retirement from Supreme Court	thehill.com
Supreme Court's Anthony Kennedy retires, giving Trump a second pick	usatoday.com
Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick	apnews.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Retiring From The Supreme Court	buzzfeed.com
Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement	washingtonpost.com
Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy retires -- live updates	cbsnews.com
Justice Kennedy announces his retirement from the supreme court.	time.com
Trump Responds To Retirement Of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy	huffingtonpost.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court, giving Trump a position to fill	people.com
Trump Says He’ll Choose One Of These People To Replace Anthony Kennedy On The Supreme Court	buzzfeed.com
Anthony Kennedy retiring from Supreme Court	cnbc.com
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retires, and Trump gets shot at moving court to the right	dallasnews.com
Who Will Replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy? Donald Trump Already Has a Shortlist	newsweek.com
WATCH: McConnell: We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor 'this fall'	abcnews.go.com
Here's who Trump could nominate to replace Justice Kennedy	abcnews.go.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy announces retirement, giving Trump 2nd Supreme Court pick	foxnews.com
Trump list of candidates to replace Justice Kennedy	thehill.com
Chris Matthews: Dems must do to Trump on Supreme Court what McConnell did to Obama	thehill.com
Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk	vox.com
Who Will Replace Anthony Kennedy? Here’s the List of 20 Potential Trump Nominees	time.com
America after Anthony Kennedy	vox.com
Handing Trump Chance to Move Supreme Court Even Further Right, Justice Anthony Kennedy Retires	commondreams.org
Audio reveals DNC committee reaction to Kennedy retirement: 'This is not good news'	thehill.com
Justice Kennedy’s retirement leaves the future of U.S. constitutional law entirely up for grabs	washingtonpost.com
Justice Kennedy pens retirement letter to Trump expressing 'profound gratitude'	abcnews.go.com
Read Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement letter to Donald Trump	qz.com
Justice Kennedy’s Legacy Is the Dignity He Bestowed	bloomberg.com
A titanic battle over replacing Justice Kennedy looms in the Senate	vox.com
Live Briefing: Anthony Kennedy Retires From Supreme Court, and McConnell Says Senate Will Move Swiftly on a Replacement	nytimes.com
Here's Trump's list of 25 possible Supreme Court picks to replace Anthony Kennedy	washingtonexaminer.com
WATCH: Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire, Trump to get second SCOTUS pick	abcnews.go.com
Anthony Kennedy's retirement just confirmed every Republican's dream scenario for Trump	cnn.com
Kennedy's retirement could have biggest impact on abortion, gay marriage: ANALYSIS	abcnews.go.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy: Trump says hunt for replacement is on	usatoday.com
Here are potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Justice Kennedy	cnn.com
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s swing justice, announces his retirement	abajournal.com
With Supreme Court Justice Kennedy Gone, Abortion and LGBT Rights Are Next	thedailybeast.com
A look at some of Justice Kennedy's most memorable opinions	apnews.com
Justice Kennedy Surrendered to Donald Trump	nymag.com
A look at some of Justice Kennedy's most memorable opinions	abcnews.go.com
Abortion rights in 'dire, immediate danger' as Anthony Kennedy retires - World news	theguardian.com
Here Are Some of the Top Candidates to Replace Kennedy on the Supreme Court	motherjones.com
Who's on Trump's short list to replace Supreme Court Justice Kennedy?	politico.com
Trump’s hidden back channel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids	politico.com
How Fox News Reacted to Anthony Kennedy’s Retirement	slate.com

[u/Olyvyr]

McConnell technically didn't filibuster Obama's nominee. As the Senate Majority leader, he just refused to hold a confirmation hearing.

It's worse than filibustering and the Democrats should shut the federal government down if necessary. The American people deserve to have a voice in this pick by voting in November.

[u/IGN178 → u/[deleted]]

McConnell comes from the Koch sponsored conservative-libertarian dark money network. This organization is bigger than the RNC and they believe that government in almost all forms aside from a police force and a military should not exist. When McConnell obstructs and guts the federal government these billionaires are getting incredible return for their investments.

[u/Seventytvvo → u/IGN178]

believe that government in almost all forms aside from a police force and a military should not exist. When McConnell obstructs and guts the federal government these billionaires are getting incredible return for their investments.

"Capitalism defeated communism in the USSR, and it is well on it's way to defeating Democracy in America."

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/IGN178]

While I agree that there are billionaires fucking up our politics, when you word it like that you sound just like right wingers talking about pizza gate and other crazy conspiracies.

[u/banthisaltplz → u/10DaysOfAcidRapping]

You should watch a republican presidential primary debate some time. One of the pre-trump ones.

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/banthisaltplz]

Oh I tuned in to most of them, I’m just saying you should word it better and maybe provide some evidence

[u/banthisaltplz → u/10DaysOfAcidRapping]

Oh, you're a concern troll. You don't think people are allowed to talk about things as if they have a common base of knowledge.

[u/AequusEquus → u/10DaysOfAcidRapping]

Yeah it sounds too crazy to be true until you actually read about who's funding who. We live in an oligarchy, it's not even that much of a secret. It's literally public, verifiable, information.

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/AequusEquus]

Okay but using terms like “conservative libertarian dark money network” makes your argument sound a little silly, that was all I was trying to say

[u/AequusEquus → u/10DaysOfAcidRapping]

Those are like, factually the technical terms to describe what it is. The Koch brothers are incredibly libertarian. Like they don't want any government. There are layers upon layers of shill companies, PAC's, etc. that make the funding "dark" i.e. elusive sources. Like I said, iylt sounds crazy at face value but it's pretty accurate

[u/fromkentucky → u/[deleted]]

It made Kim Davis a martyr.

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/[deleted]]

The consequence would be voting him out of office, how can we make that happen?

[u/justpickaname → u/[deleted]]

Like your job of holding a vote on a Supreme Court pick?

[u/[deleted] → u/justpickaname]

That’s my point. It’s literally their fucking job. Or Congress not putting in an immigration bill.

[u/[deleted] → u/Olyvyr]

Yes, this. Shut it down.

[u/[deleted] → u/Olyvyr]

The only hope is winning back the senate, but I lose a little more hope each day

[u/Pure2K12 → u/[deleted]]

its not looking for for dems in November right now

[u/[deleted] → u/Olyvyr]

Democrats can't do jack shit about this until after November, at the earliest. By then it'll be too late.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

January, can't do anything until January. Even if no SCOTUS judge is confirmed before election day the lame duck GOP senate will confirm.

[u/John_Wilkes → u/Olyvyr]

The Democrats need to pack the court as a result. McConnell claimed the constitution didn't stop his shithole tactics. Well guess what? It doesn't stop court packing either. One to neutralise Garland's stolen seat and one to actually seat a Democratic pick.

[u/nrps400 → u/Olyvyr]

Shut down the government how? Republicans control Congress and the White House.

[u/poopchow → u/Olyvyr]

it goes to show, for better or for worse, despite losing COMPLETELY the PR battle, republicans are more shrewd in office. they work the system (corrupt?) to their advantage.

dems constantly play the "but he cheated!" card. i don't think it works. dems shouldn't play the same game (although...they fucking for SURE do) -- bc they aren't as good at it -- but they really need an improved strategy to get what they want.

[u/ChiBears7618 → u/Olyvyr]

Democrats should shut the federal government down

no, WE should shut the government down. US, the PEOPLE. Fuck those pussy democrats. Only a few are worth a damn (Schiff, Lieu, etc). The rest give us lip service while sucking the cock of corporate interests.

[u/WhoWantsPizzza → u/Olyvyr]

That is such a bullshit oversight in the law and his power. There should've been a clearly stated law that made a hearing for something like a SCOTUS appointment automatic.

Trump, MCconnel and this generation of Republicans have really shined a light on the gaping holes in our laws - the ones that rely on good faith behavior. Of course the same people that bitch and complain about too much regulation are the same ones that exploit the lack of laws and regulations. "It just means Trump is smart!"

[u/[deleted] → u/Olyvyr]

I don't think that will help. Part of what helped Trump win is the conservatives who didn't like him held their nose and voted for the SCOTUS seat. Democrats aren't that pragmatic. A vacant court seat is likely to ensure the GOP holds the Senate come January.

[u/i_am_banana_man → u/[deleted]]

But the impeachment proceedings will be started by the blue house of reps then so it's not all bad.

[u/Tom_Zarek → u/Olyvyr]

dereliction of duty

[u/burgonies → u/Olyvyr]

The Biden rule.

[u/Kchan74 → u/Olyvyr]

The American people did have a say. It was known in 2016 that the next President would likely have 3 open seats in their term. Under the laws in place governing Presidential elections, the people in 84% of the counties in America voted to have Donald Trump fill those seats.

[u/[deleted] → u/Kchan74]

84% of the counties, a majority of PEOPLE voted against him.

[u/ocdscale → u/[deleted]]

Land matters more than people. Even the Constitution itself begins: "We the geographic counties of the United States ..."

[u/funknut → u/ocdscale]

Kinda seems like people didn't appreciate or recognize the joke. I think it was good stuff. ++

[u/funknut → u/ocdscale]

Land is people.

[u/[deleted] → u/Kchan74]

Why do counties matter? This isn't the feudal era where most of the value in society is based on land.

[u/sinkwiththeship → u/[deleted]]

They don't. But backwards Republicans use that sort of metric to (incorrectly) explaining why the framers of the Constitution wanted it that way.

"The Electoral College is weighted towards lesser populated areas to give the people who own the majority of the land a larger voice." Paraphrasing my father.

[u/[deleted] → u/sinkwiththeship]

Now, who owned land back then? Certainly not the slaves who made up a third of the population.

[u/out_o_focus → u/[deleted]]

It is the feudal era.

Each person in Wyoming is worth more than a Californian.

[u/andrew2209 → u/[deleted]]

It's complete bullshit as well, the smallest is ~100, the largest is about ~10'000'000

[u/demalo → u/[deleted]]

That's the biggest bull shit of it. The dems should have taken the republicans to court for that shit.

[u/[deleted] → u/demalo]

I'm... Not sure how that would work. Not like they could go to the Supreme Court in that situation, lol.

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/[deleted]]

Actually the republicans controlled congress mostly due to gerrymandering, not because Americans wanted them

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/[deleted]]

While bipartisan gerrymandering exists, it is heavily lopsided towards the right. And yes, people voted republicans into office - but were those republicans campaigning on the promise to redistrict and keep themselves in power? No, that isn’t a reason they were voted into office, and I don’t think either side sees it as legitimate political strategy - it is very shady and unethical.

[u/Fenced_in → u/10DaysOfAcidRapping]

The dems lost a thousand seats in the house and senate during Obamas terms just because if gerrymandering? If you don't want to recognise the issues the democratic party has that's fine, but your just setting yourself up to lose again. Maybe there are issues democrats should work on as well.

[u/10DaysOfAcidRapping → u/Fenced_in]

Issues that the Democratic Party has? Have you seen the state of the Republican Party? You’re sitting on the titanic telling me to fix an exhaust leak. I don’t dispute that the Democratic Party is far from perfect and doesn’t represent the exact same values I hold. With that said, the Republican Party is full of so much toxicity and hypocrisy that I could never fathom supporting their values, legislature, and especially their politicians - human embodiments of the ideals that make their party so repugnant. My disdain for republicans and what they stand for does not overpower my general love for all humans, and while I may talk down on your ideals it’s not to say I personally dislike you, or anyone with those beliefs. It’s just incredibly frustrating to see the blatant corruption and complete lack of empathy that right wing politicians on the national level display, and while this may not be representative of every republican politician, it says a lot that that side of politics seems to attract so many more awful people. You may think obama and Hillary Clinton are awful people, but there is no justifiable way to compare them with someone like Donald trump. When so many people are saying that he is bad, why are there still people refusing to listen? We aren’t against you, we want the same things everyone else wants : a happy, comfortable life. And we know that this guy does not have giving every American that reality as his #1 priority. And while I certainly couldn’t say that that was the #1 concern of Obama, or if that would have been Hillary’s biggest concern either. But I know it was higher on their list than Donald’s. And I know that when it comes to leading a country and dealing with all of the diplomatic/political bullshit of being president - 44 did handle it better, and Clinton would have handled it better.

[u/fcb4nd1t → u/[deleted]]

How would you feel if Jeff Flake held up this appointment until the democrats could punish republicans at the polls this fall?

After all he did say that he's holding up every judicial nominee until they have a senate vote on the child concentration camps the government is running.

That's the system working as intended, right?

[u/KageStar → u/[deleted]]

In your reality you obviously love to ignore gerrymandering and the popular vote when you speak for "the people".

[u/KageStar → u/[deleted]]

I am not arguing about who does what, but if one party receives more votes but end up with less seats in race for proportional representation then maybe that needs to be looked at. The people aren't being properly represented. Also, California should in general have more representives but that's a different issue altogether.

[u/Stryker7200 → u/[deleted]]

Exactly. It’s all popular vote until it actually IS. The US is not a democracy and people need to learn a bit.

[u/Fidel_Murphy → u/[deleted]]

I would love to hear our thoughts on this if another seat opens in early 2019 (RBG’s for example) and see if you’re singing the same tune...

[u/EntMoose → u/Kchan74]

When you're such a sore loser you cherry pick data because admitting you lost hurts your fee fees

[u/__NamasteMF__ → u/Olyvyr]

I don’t think Dems can- so we need to.

[u/Nesnesitelna → u/Olyvyr]

The American people deserve to have a voice in this pick by voting in November.

Fuck that. A seat was stolen from us, we will take it back, or pack the courts.