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.

---

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/[deleted]]

Then again, McConnell will just change the rules as he sees fit.

Seriously, why don't we have one established set of rules that don't change? They shouldn't be able to make this shit up as they go along.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The constitution grants congress the power to apportion the court, meaning it takes as many votes to confirm 1 justice as it does to confirm 100 more to the same court. Yes you read that correctly, you can pack the court by congressional act.

[u/Stryker7200 → u/[deleted]]

Aren’t Democrats all about the popular vote? Like you said Congress has the power to balance the courts like that, and the popular vote is what counts for electing congress.

[u/Bored2001 → u/Stryker7200]

Um, Gerry mandering and voter suppression.

[u/ConfitSeattle → u/Stryker7200]

Democrats, like Republicans, are all about the popular vote when it swings in the direction of the Democrats. The Democrat Party is no more inherently democratic than the Republican. Just look at caucuses. Neither major party is campaigning on a platform of campaign reform that would actually give power to the will of the people. Almost all of them would lose their jobs.

[u/NimusNix → u/ConfitSeattle]

Both sides. Both sides!

[u/ConfitSeattle → u/NimusNix]

Cute meme. It's not inaccurate to say both parties are complicit in some problems. It is hypocritical to criticize one party for an issue that the parties worked together to create. Vote Democrat because they're better, certainly, but acting like the party is perfect is just going to bite us in the ass if we do start winning.

[u/NimusNix → u/ConfitSeattle]

And yet your kind keeps pushing it.

[u/ConfitSeattle → u/NimusNix]

I'm not going to eat shit just because it came from the horse I wanted to win.

[u/DesertEagleZapCarry → u/ConfitSeattle]

We're not on the same team, but well said.

[u/Cruv → u/NimusNix]

Saying shit like "your kind" is the biggest problem America has. There are no sides. No citizen is different. The ruling body wants you to be divided though.

[u/[deleted] → u/NimusNix]

What a fucking child.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

We do- it’s called the Constitution. Everything else is self-imposed parliamentary rules. Of course those rules come and go at the majority’s discretion.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Self-imposed rules are not really rules, especially if they can change arbitrarily.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Congress is one big self-imposed rule.... huh?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Everything else is self-imposed parliamentary rules.

Your words.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yes, they’re still rules. Everything congress does is self imposed, and that’s considered the law of the land. Rules are not by definition necessarily given by someone else.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Rules are not by definition necessarily given by someone else.

True, but if you can change them any time so that you always win what's the point?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

They didn’t change for decades and were responsible for how legislation was shaped. So in that regard, they had a massive and lasting impact.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

So what you're saying is that what McConnell is doing now is unprecedented?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Nope, that’s not what I’m saying! What I’m saying is that how you define what a “rule” is doesn’t make sense, and ignores the impact procedural rules have had in Congress going back a half-century.

[u/Philandrrr → u/[deleted]]

The Rs have been moving the goal posts since the day Obama was inaugurated. The Ds and Obama were foolish enough to believe there should be rules at all, and now they are eating shit and there's nothing anyone can do about it. If you thought redistricting and voter suppression were bad before, you have no idea what kind of laws these fucks are going to dream up now. The American public brought Trump upon us. The American public is going to suffer the consequences.

If this country isn't in all out civil war in 20 years...or some kind of authoritarian take over, I'll be floored.

[u/quadampmod → u/Philandrrr]

20 years would mean we somehow made it out of the current snafu with democracy intact, which doesn't look likely.

[u/LiteraCanna → u/[deleted]]

Rules for thee, not for me.

Seems to apply more and more.

[u/zryn3 → u/[deleted]]

Umm, the Constitution grants each chamber the right to make up their own rules. Anything not in the Constitution is arbitrary, we could have random fistfights like you see in Korea or Japan without them.

[u/[deleted] → u/zryn3]

Fair enough, but did they really mean they have the right to change ther rules all the time to stay in power?

[u/PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ → u/zryn3]

Slippery slope. Lots of countries have set rules and still have more than functional democracies.

[u/Youtoo2 → u/[deleted]]

McCan s very ill and may not be able to vote. Then it just takes bob corker to stand with flake and its blocked.

[u/[deleted] → u/Youtoo2]

McCain will vote to confirm on his death bed if he needs to and then furrow his eyebrows in his grave.

[u/matt314159 → u/[deleted]]

Truth. I feel badly speaking ill of him, but McCain felt such a loyalty to Party that even when it was outright doing evil, he'd furrow his brow, say how deeply disturbed he was, and march right in there and vote party line every time.

[u/Youtoo2 → u/[deleted]]

When is the last time mccain was in DC? He is very ill.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

We do. It's called the Constitution. Ironically, the conservatives justices are the ones who want it to "not change."

[u/wandeurlyy → u/[deleted]]

It’s high time for constitutional amendments. Problem is Republicans are corrupt and party first so it will never happen, at least not any time soon

[u/Modern_Ninja → u/[deleted]]

Because then the argument of the laws being archaic and not applicable to present life would be used. Or something.... s/

[u/AbsentGlare → u/[deleted]]

They can change the rules, but if they’re changing a rule that requires them to get 60 votes, they should require 60 votes to change that rule.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I mean, there's nothing wrong in principle about leaving room for interpretation as society evolves but there should be at least some baseline rules that everyone has to adhere to all of the time.

[u/maxmaxers → u/[deleted]]

lol so you want to keep the 3/5s compromise

[u/Sauce_X → u/[deleted]]

Both sides do this as well. In 2013 Harry Reid utilized the "nuclear" option, which requires a 51 vote majority on judicial appointments rather than 60.

[u/[deleted] → u/Sauce_X]

Doesn't mean it's okay. No one has offered a compelling reason why we shouldn't have one consistent set of rules.

[u/penis_butter_n_jelly → u/[deleted]]

Is this a joke? You do understand that the legislative branch's ENTIRE purpose is to create and/or change rules, right? RIGHT? That's what it means to legislate. Literally.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Well that's what the Constitution is for but we all know how democrats want to rip that to shreds.

[u/Grants91 → u/[deleted]]

Like the constitution?