In his latest Justia blog post, Illinois Law dean and professor Vikram David Amar argues that while Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the US Supreme Court will change the institution, it may not result in a significant shift to the right on some hot-button issues, as many anticipate. Amar explains that the greatest casualty of Justice Kennedy’s retirement actually might be electoral reform.
He writes:
"Undoubtedly, the most important discussion of Kennedy’s legacy—and of the effect his departure will have on American law—concerns particular areas of law in which Kennedy appeared to be a brake, especially over the last dozen years, on the impulses and desires of the four justices considered to be more consistently conservative than he was. Assuming that Justice Kavanaugh turns out to be somewhat similar in substance to the last two Republican appointees—Justices Alito and Gorsuch—Chief Justice Roberts, especially since he tends often to focus as much on past Court precedent as first principles of constitutional meaning, will become the new swing justice on the Court. The 'CJ' may also be the 'key J,' something that has not been true on the Court for quite some time."
Read the full post at verdict.justia.com.