Supreme Court Justice Profile: Anthony M. Kennedy
Last month’s post was about Justice Stephen Breyer, an expert at constitutional law and other related fields. Moving on, we’ll now focus on Anthony M. Kennedy, who has served the Supreme Court for decades now. He’s been known to be the swing vote of the court.
Here are a few facts about Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
Anthony M. Kennedy
Born: July 23, 1936
Profession: Lawyer, Judge
Alma Mater:
Stanford University, 1958
Harvard Law School, 1961
History
Born and raised as the son of Anthony J. Kennedy, an attorney, and Gladys McLeod-Kennedy in Sacramento, California, Justice Kennedy mingled with many local politicians of his day. As such, he developed some interest in politics, where he would one day enter as a judge.
In 1954, he attended Stanford where he graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1958. He proceeded to Harvard Law School, where he earned his LLB in 1961. He later engaged in private practice until 1963, and became a professor at the University of the Pacific from 1965 to 1988.
During this time, he helped President Ronald Reagan with drafting a state tax proposal.
Due to his efforts, he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1987, after Reagan’s failed nominations of Robert Bork and Douglas Ginsberg. His background was thoroughly scrutinized, to see if he was worthy of the position as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He was confirmed on 1988 and began his tenure from there. He was known not for his rigid ideological views, but for his professionalism as judge, not showing any biases at all when it comes to his job, keeping the balance of liberalism and conservatism within the judicial realm.
Some Works
Kansas v Utilitycorp United Int.
Austin v Michigan Chamber of Commerce
References:
Anthony Kennedy Biography, Bio.com