- He is, in fact, a standard Reagan era, corporatist, racist, misogynist judge, who happened to write a couple of opinions that reflected one small area of decency in his work.
- Related: Anthony Kennedy, You Are a Total Disgrace to America.
Tom Hall, LA Progressive
Sunday, 1 July 2018 | It’s time to stop saying Anthony Kennedy was a “swing justice” on the United States Supreme Court. He told students at Harvard Law School, years ago, that he didn’t see himself as a “swing justice.” And any review of his decisions bears that out. He is, in fact, a standard Reagan era, corporatist, racist, misogynist judge, who happened to write a couple of opinions that reflected one small area of decency in his work.
Anthony Kennedy did deserve respect for the opinions he wrote on gay rights and same sex marriage. But giving that respect also means understanding the context in which those opinions and his underlying views were formed. Kennedy went to law school when many law schools still resisted admitting non-whites and women. He went from law school to private practice in San Francisco and Sacramento, and then on to the bench in San Francisco. His brief private practice was with all white Republican power brokers while Reagan was governor.
Tom Hall is a family lawyer in West Los Angeles. He is from Boston, and was raised in Friends Meeting at Cambridge (Quakers) to think that religion was a progressive force. During the Vietnam War, he organized draft counseling centers and worked with groups training people in techniques for disciplined nonviolent demonstrating. After the war, he became just another yuppie working to make a comfortable life. The Bush administration shocked him back into social concerns.
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Related:
Anthony Kennedy, You Are a Total Disgrace to America. Michael Tomasky, Daily Beast / Reader Supported News
No one expected Kennedy to allow Donald Trump to pick his successor. But he has. And it should forever taint his legacy as a jurist.- Related: Anthony Kennedy Did Not Swing!
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