# Kennedy Retiring from SCOTUS **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 27, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858 "2018-06-27T18:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/1 "2018-06-27T18:11:19Z")
[Trump gets to pick a 2nd time](https://apnews.com/43de809e3c144a1f9048055386394263). > [@](#): > > The 81-year-old Kennedy said he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights. > > Without him, the court will be split between four liberal justices who were appointed by Democratic presidents and four conservatives who were named by Republicans. Trump’s nominee is likely to give the conservatives a solid majority and will face a Senate process in which Republicans hold the slimmest majority, but Democrats can’t delay confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/2 "2018-06-27T18:12:14Z")
Kennedy is retiring. Who will Trump nominate to replace him? I’m thinking Milo Yiannopoulos. > **[Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court | CNN Politics](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/27/politics/anthony-kennedy-retires/index.html)** > > Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who provided key votes for same sex-marriage, abortion access and affirmative action, will retire from the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/3 "2018-06-27T18:14:40Z")
I don’t think Congress will hold hearings, after all, we should wait until the next Presidential election to allow the voters to have their say. Right? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/4 "2018-06-27T18:14:51Z")
Apparently Kennedy is retiring in the next 5 days. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mike\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_H)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/5 "2018-06-27T18:17:09Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Kennedy is retiring. Who will Drumpf nominate to replace him? I’m thinking Milo Yiannopoulos. > > [Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court - CNNPolitics](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/27/politics/anthony-kennedy-retires/index.html) Or Joe Arpaio. Or Roy Moore. Or himself. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/6 "2018-06-27T18:17:47Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Who will Trump nominate to replace him? Michael Cohen. Rudy Giuliani. Jeanine Pirro. Andrew Napolitano. Legal All-Stars! Hell, I think he’d nominate Ivanka, if he could. _Edit: damn, I blanked out on Roy Moore. Best answer yet._ ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/7 "2018-06-27T18:19:20Z")
My only question is do the Democrats try to fight this or just roll over and play dead. If would be nice if they were competent enough to be able to use this to motivate voters and help them take the Senate back but I very much doubt they will come up with an effective strategy to do so. Will the threat of Roe, Obergefell and Lawrence v Texas being overturned get people to the polls or will American democracy just die a little more? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/8 "2018-06-27T18:19:40Z")
Pardon me while I do some somersaults. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/9 "2018-06-27T18:20:40Z")
I suspect the nominee will come from the list of names he recently updated. He followed through on that campaign promise the first time, and I suspect he will again. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/10 "2018-06-27T18:21:01Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Kennedy is retiring. Who will Trump nominate to replace him? I’m thinking Milo Yiannopoulos. Michael Cohen. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/11 "2018-06-27T18:21:21Z")
I expect the GOP to try to rush his replacement through before the midterms, even though there’s still a decent chance the Republicans hang on to a majority in that house. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/12 "2018-06-27T18:22:23Z")
Personally, I’m glad. I read an article a while back (~15 years ago) saying that Kennedy and O’Connor were messing up the court by forcing these super-narrow compromise decisions (like the current bigot cake shop vs gay couple one) rather than deal with the bigger issue. An analogy was made that had O’Connor and Kennedy been around during the Brown vs The Board of Education case, the decision would have been that only elementary schools in Topeka, Kansas only would have had to integrate. I’m not a lawyer so I don’t know how accurate that is, but it does seem to me that Kennedy has forced stupid compromises on the sort of fundamental issues that it’s the Supreme Court’s job to actually rule on. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/13 "2018-06-27T18:24:24Z")
He will offer Judge Judy but she says no because she makes $40 mil a year on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/14 "2018-06-27T18:28:41Z")
Per the [press release posting](https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/press/pressreleases/pr_06-27-18) on the Supreme Court’s website his retirement is effective July 31. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/15 "2018-06-27T18:29:59Z")
Last time, three Democratic senators still voted for Gorsuch. Think it’s going to be unanimous against the Trump nominee this time? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/16 "2018-06-27T18:30:23Z")
Justice Sarah Palin! ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/17 "2018-06-27T18:33:19Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > My only question is do the Democrats try to fight this or just roll over and play dead. If would be nice if they were competent enough to be able to use this to motivate voters and help them take the Senate back but I very much doubt they will come up with an effective strategy to do so. > > Will the threat of Roe, Obergefell and Lawrence v Texas being overturned get people to the polls or will American democracy just die a little more? Fight in what way? There’s nothing they can legally do to stop whoever Trump nominates. The best that the Democrats can hope for is that senators like Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins oppose the nominee if it turns out to be a whacko like Roy Moore. ETA. I suppose there’s also the small hope that due to his incompetence that Trump picks the next David Souter, but that’s a very slim hope. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/18 "2018-06-27T18:33:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I suspect the nominee will come from the list of names he recently updated. He followed through on that campaign promise the first time, and I suspect he will again. No doubt. Supreme picks is the bone he holds out to keep the establishment Rs on team He’ll definitely stick to the conservative favourites list so they don’t hassle him over starting trade wars with long time allies and other populist crap. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/19 "2018-06-27T18:34:50Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I expect the GOP to try to rush his replacement through before the midterms, even though there’s still a decent chance the Republicans hang on to a majority in that house. Rush? There’s no need to rush. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nominations_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States): Kennedy was confirmed 65 days after his nomination. Thomas was confirmed 99 days after his. For Ginsburg it was a mere 50 days. Breyer was 73. Roberts (a bit odd because it shifted from Associate to Chief Justice partway through) was 23 or 39 days. Hell, let’s add them together and call it 62 days. Alito was 82. Sotomayor was 66, Kagan was 87 and Gorsuch was 65. The midterms are in 132 days. President Trump could spend an entire month contemplating who from his list he’d like to select and the Senate could give that person a longer nominating process than any of the currently-serving justices, and it could still all be wrapped up before the midterms. ---
**Author:** ![2ManyTacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/3da27b/32.png) [@2ManyTacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2ManyTacos)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858/20 "2018-06-27T18:34:58Z")
You know all those times in prior threads when other posters mocked me for being so sure of a future Democratic Court-packing movement? All of those calls are going to get fucking HUGE starting today. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kennedy-retiring-from-scotus/816858.md?page=2)