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Supreme Court Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and John Roberts arrive on the Western Front of the US Capitol at the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images) [19659002] Hanging chandeliers above the reception and oil paintings of past chief justices have scratched the walls. The ceremonial hall at the Supreme Court spoke about the history of the institution, and appropriately. Judge Neil M. Gorsuch was sworn in, making him the 101st associate judge in the country's highest court
. The reception ended and a smaller group continued its celebration. Gorsuch, 49, swept the crowd. Magistrate Anthony M. Kennedy looked at his former employee whose career was shaped in his own room, according to Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University School of Law. "There was an almost parental pride you could see in their relationship," said Turley. "[Kennedy] had clearly a deep respect and affection for him.From Kennedy's confirmation in 1988, he took a relatively predictable approach: systematically voting for individual rights (outside criminal justice and capital punishment), but vote differently with the law … Kennedy, according to Turley, established the bridge, not because of his votes but by his voice. "He had impeccable credentials as a jurist", Turley said. "He showed that you could have a conservative philosophy while protecting individual rights."
That's why, according to some, the justice that is retiring is irreplaceable.
Weight imminent change will depend on President Trump selects in. Many of Kennedy's historical opinions have passed by a vote of 5 to 4, held together by one: his own.This heritage could be defeated by a candidate with a philosophy even slightly more conservative.
Experts say Kennedy's retirement will be the biggest change the court has seen in decades.
Robert Bork, justice that never existed
"The last time the court had the potential to radically change the deal, it was with the seat of Robert Bork", said Jeffrey Rosen, a professor at George Washington University. Law School and General Director of the National Constitution Center.
Judge Lewis Powell retired in 1987. Because he was the first to vote, President Ronald Reagan's candidate had the potential to tip the court's case law. Reagan chose conservative Robert Bork, a legal scholar and a judge who originally adhered, to the belief that the meaning of the Constitution should be interpreted solely on the basis of the intent of its authors
"Historically, it was the most controversial appointment, until Merrick Garland," said Rosen, referring to the appointment of President Barack Obama who was denied a Senate hearing.
The appointment of Bork was put to a vote in the Senate, where Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) Is aggressively opposed to him and his "Extremist view of the Constitution and the role of the Court supreme ":
" America's Bork is a land where women would be forced to have abortions, blacks would sit in segregated canteens, rogue police could destroy citizens' doors in raids by midnight, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists would be censored at the whim of the government, and the doors of the federal courts would be closed on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is often the only protector of individual rights that are the heart of our democracy. "
Bork has not been confirmed.
Next, Reagan appointed Judge Douglas Ginsburg, who withdrew his appointment amid allegations that he smoked marijuana while teaching at Harvard. Anthony M. Kennedy, a moderate Californian Reagan Republican, was the third choice of the president.
The Controversial Confirmation of Clarence Thomas
For many, there has never been a more dramatic transition than Clarence Thomas replacing Judge Thurgood Marshall in 1991. Marshall, the First Black Lawyer and Defender of Rights civilians, was a liberal who believed in the limitation of the Constitution. After almost 30 years, he left the bench, driven by consternation in the direction the court derives, The Washington Post has already reported.
The change following his departure was pronounced.
Thomas, nominated by George HW Bush, was the antithesis of Marshall: a conservative and a convinced originalist.
Decades before #MeToo, her confirmation hearings ended with accusations of Anita Hill, a former employee who said that Thomas was sexually harassing her at her workplace. His salacious testimony positioned the candidate, a former chief of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, at the center of a national scandal. In a scathing statement, Thomas denied the allegations and denounced the commission for "high-tech lynching".
"We are going through a perilous time, but every time a justice will retire, there will be a lot of" Michael Dorf, who held the Kennedy post during the 1991-1992 period and who is now professor at Cornell Law
The vacancy left by Marshall's retreat moved the center of the court away from the Liberal majority, but there was no question as to which direction the court would go. Kennedy, Sandra Day O "Connor and Byron White walked by keeping the middle, says Turley.
A Conservative moves the court to the right
O'Connor, the first woman of the Supreme Court, was replaced by Samuel Alito in 2006. The resignation of O & # 39; Connor is a better parallel to that of Kennedy, according to some lawyers and law academics, among whom David Lat, founder of the legal site Above the Law. [19659025] Initially, O Connor was right, only t omber in the role of justice swing later towards the end of his term. When she was replaced by Samuel Alito, a conservative laggard, "that changed the court," said Lat. "You've seen the precedents of where O Connor get lost in everything but the name."
This transition can be even more significant.
When Marshall resigned, he left a court that spread across the political spectrum. The addition of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer offered a better balance
However, according to Dorf, this court has little center. "It has a conservative wing and a liberal wing, there are differences inside each one of them, but they are quite distant from each other," he said. He expects to see a gradual shift in jurisprudence on important issues, such as abortion and affirmative action based on race. "A more stable five-judge majority could actually kill Roe v. Wade by 1,000 paper cuts."
With Marshall replaced by Thomas and O 'Connor by Alito, the court slid slightly to the right. But if a Conservative candidate is confirmed to replace Kennedy, the closest the court will have to a swing-centered voter is Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., the experts said. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Roberts is more conservative than Kennedy and as the Chief Justice has remained faithful to the Right, although in recent years he has been called Wobbly .
"I could see that shift between the O-Connor-Alito and Marshall-Thomas shifts," Lat said. "We forget that Kennedy justice is basically a pretty conservative justice.People think about the decision of LGBTs, but on the freedom of expression and the business interest, it was generally conservative, but with one case The person chosen to replace him may have the same philosophy. "
The appointment of Gorsuch has appeased the anxieties of the left, while talking about the continuity and tradition of the court According to Lat, the nominees for the nomination are Brett Kavanaugh and Raymond Kethledge, both former Kennedy Conservatives
"It would be a good selling point when Trump can tell the public that this jurist is being replaced by someone else." that he framed. and respect, "Lat said.
Having Gorsuch on the bench may have reassured Kennedy that he would not leave the court at risk, but his timing is precarious." Like O & # 39; Connor, Kennedy might soon see his defeated inheritance
Read more:
The homosexual rights pioneer who asked for justice in the Supreme Court in 1960
LBJ is clever enough to make Thurgood Marshall the first Supreme Black Judicial Justice
Thurgood Marshall asks an ex-Klan member to help make history of the Supreme Court
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