by George Conk
Shock and alarm followed the resignation of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. He created a vacancy that Donald Trump could fill before the fall mid-term elections that could bring a Democratic Senate majority. Kennedy vaporized liberal illusions that he might hold out precisely to preserve the possibility that a moderate might succeed him after the November mid-term elections.
As he left Kennedy again joined the 5-4 conservative majority this time in Janus v. AFSCME eviscerating the finances of public employee unions, and in Trump v Hawaii approved the President’s ban on travel from five Muslim majority countries, with North Korea and Venezuela thrown in to blunt the accusation of religiously motivated discrimination.
Suspicion soon began to mount when the retiring Associate Justice addressed his letter to”My dear President”. Like a vassal seeking leave of his Lord Kennedy displayed a personal familiarity with the President who has waged a relentless attack on the justice system – courts, investigators, and prosecutors. How could the Justice known as an apostle of civility leave a clear path for a lawless vulgarian to replace him with an even more hardline justice than himself?
Source: OTHERWISE: Justice Kennedy – vassal to Lord Trump?
Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach 