Anthony Kennedy: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:21, 26 December 2005

Revision as of 03:29, 31 December 2005

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===Ideology===

Although appointed by a President who was both Republican and conservative, Kennedy’s tenure on the court has seen him take a liberalmixed path. While some would point to his joining the conservative bloc in such decisions as ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'', ''[[McConnell v. FEC]]'', and ''[[Grutter v. Bollinger]]'' as proof of his conservatism, others would point to cases like ''[[Romer v. Evans]]'', ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'', ''[[Ashcroft v. ACLU]]'', ''[[Roper v. Simmons]]'', and ''[[Kelo v. New London]]'' to assert Kennedy is a liberal. At the same time, he also frustrates constitutional law scholars by often foregoing conventional methods of explaining his holding and instead relying on vivid prose and unusual philosophy. Decisions in which Kennedy has mentioned European law have also equally frustrated political conservatives. All these factors considered, Kennedy will probably be remembered historically along with [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] as one of two swing voters in many 5-4 decisions during the Rehnquist court.

Kennedy's views on issues are fairly consistent. He supports a broad reading of the "liberty" protected by the [[Due Process]] Clause of the [[Fourteenth Amendment]], which means he supports a constitutional right to abortion in principle, though he has voted to uphold several restrictions on that right, including laws to prohibit partial-birth abortions. He is "tough on crime" and opposes creating constitutional restrictions on the police, especially in [[Fourth Amendment]] cases involving searches for illegal drugs. He opposes [[affirmative action]] as promoting stereotypes of minorities. He also takes a very broad view of constitutional protection for speech under the First Amendment, invalidating a congressional law prohibiting "virtual" child pornography in 2004's ''Ashcroft v. ACLU'' [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-218].