KENNEDY HOLDS OUR FUTURE IN HIS HANDS | Trump’s Life-Tenured Judicial Avatar | Chief Justice All About The Tough Love

July 6, 2017

Should JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY choose to retire, MSNBC’s Steve Benen writes that “such a move would set off a political earthquake.” He adds, “I’ve long believed much of the left has grown complacent about the Supreme Court, which likely contributed to some liberals voting third-party in 2016, contributing to the election of DONALD TRUMP. With Kennedy’s retirement on the horizon, the nation is likely to pay a high price for many years to come.”

Linda Greenhouse with The New York Times writes about JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH, noting that of all the coverage of the newbie’s first foray into SCOTUS business, there was little said about “the sheer flamboyance of the junior justice’s behavior.” She writes, “Whether out of ignorance or by deliberate choice, Neil Gorsuch is a norm breaker. He’s the new kid in class with his hand always up, the boy on the playground who snatches the ball out of turn. He is in his colleagues’ faces pointing out the error of their ways, his snarky tone oozing disrespect toward those who might, just might, know what they are talking about. It’s hard to ascribe this behavior to ignorance — he was, after all, like three of his colleagues, once a Supreme Court law clerk. But if it’s not ignorance, what is it? How could the folksy ‘Mr. Smith Goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee’ morph so quickly into DONALD TRUMP’S life-tenured judicial avatar?” 

Turns out, DONALD TRUMP’S travel ban isn’t so unpopular with most Americans. The latest Politico-Morning Consult poll found that six in ten American voters support the new, more limited ban upheld by the Supreme Court.

Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern explains how the Supreme Court could possibly overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the future of gay marriage in America hinges on JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY. The Obergefell decision “remains secure so long as its author, Justice Anthony Kennedy, remains on the court along with the four justices who joined his opinion.” Stern urges, “The consequences of Kennedy stepping down are difficult to overstate: Trump would likely replace him with a conservative hardliner like JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH, creating a five-member bloc that could potentially demolish reproductive rights, voting rights, environmental protections, gun restrictions, and redistricting reform. No progressive victory enabled by Kennedy’s vote would be safe.”

Slate is running a series of monthly dialogues between two of the nation’s most esteemed jurists, RICHARD A. POSNER and JEFF S. RAKOFF. In their latest, the two discuss whether there should be age limits for federal judges.

Supreme Court CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS delivered the commencement speech at his son’s ninth-grade graduation last month, and it wasn’t what you’d expect from a father and Supreme Court justice. Bestowing advice that runs counter to what most adults impart to children, the chief justice wished bad luck to the young graduates. “Now, the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extent good wishes to you. I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.” I guess it’s all tough love in the Roberts household. TIME’s Katie Reilly reports.