Beneath the gentlemanly charm of former Justice Anthony Kennedy lies the steely resolve that once made him a pivotal force on the Supreme Court. Now 89, Kennedy retired seven years ago during the Trump administration, stepping down from a role he cherished. “I loved sitting on the bench,” he said, explaining that he left for something he loved more: his wife, Mary.
In retirement, Kennedy is reflecting on his career in a new memoir, “Life, Law & Liberty.” He details how his Western upbringing shaped his legal philosophy. “I was born in the West and embraced that Western spirit,” he writes. “Sacramento is where my thinking began about equality, liberty and freedom.” Kennedy never envisioned a judicial career, having taken over his father’s solo law practice. “Actually it took over me,” he recalled. “And I had no time to see the kids growing up.”
Seeking more time with his family, he accepted then-Governor Ronald Reagan’s offer of a federal judgeship. At 38, Kennedy became the youngest judge on the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, where his tenure was quickly tested. He presided over the bail hearing for Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, charged with the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford, and denied her bail in what he described as a ten-second decision. Days later, his Sacramento home was vandalized in what he always suspected was a related incident. “It was terrifying,” he said.
Over a decade later, President Reagan nominated Kennedy to the U.S. Supreme Court after his first two choices failed. Kennedy was unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
During his time on the Court, Kennedy became its most influential member, often described as the “swing justice.” According to Columbia University law professor Jamal Greene, who clerked at the Court in 2006, Kennedy’s impact was immense. “One way of measuring that is, the year I was on the Court, there were 25 5-4 decisions, and Justice Kennedy was in the majority in every single one,” Greene noted. His vote was decisive in landmark cases concerning the 2000 presidential election, gun ownership, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage.
Kennedy’s influence is evident in some of the era’s most significant rulings. In 1992, while deliberating on Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the devout Catholic considered resigning but ultimately joined the liberal justices to uphold a woman’s right to an abortion. “It just seemed to me that this was the woman’s right,” he explained, “and that what people of my belief should do is to convince her not to have the abortion… but that she should have the right.”
In 2015, he authored the majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. His words—”No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family”—became famously known for passing the “refrigerator test,” meaning they were eloquent enough for people to display at home.
Since Kennedy’s retirement, however, his legacy has faced significant challenges. In 2022, the Supreme Court, which includes two of his former clerks, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, overturned Roe v. Wade. Justice Samuel Alito, in the majority opinion, called the reasoning in Roe and Casey “egregiously wrong.” Responding to the reversal, Kennedy stated, “I stand by what we wrote and what we decided. It’s a difficult issue.” Furthermore, a petition has now been filed asking the Court to reconsider Obergefell.
While careful not to criticize the current justices directly, Kennedy expressed concern about the Court’s internal dynamics. “It’s a little bit too personal and confrontational, some of the opinions,” he said. “I’m hoping that will settle down a little bit.” His concerns extend to the broader state of public discourse, a key theme in his book. “Democracy presumes an open, rational, thoughtful, decent discussion where you respect the dignity of the person with whom you disagree,” he warned. “And if it doesn’t have that, then democracy as we know it is in danger.”
