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Anthony Kennedy

‘He Approached Every Issue Without Passion or Prejudice’

July 12, 2018 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/7-12-walker-blog.mp3

A law professor who clerked for both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says President Trump made a terrific selection and is confident that Kavanaugh would be a justice who is faithful to the text of the law and not any policy agenda.

Justin Walker teaches at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.  He clerked for Kavanaugh in 2010-2011, and was thrilled to hear Trump nominate him to the high court.

“He’s impeccably credentialed.  He was a great lower court judge.  He’s going to bring independence and fairmindedness and brilliance to the job.

“I was also happy for him, may mentor and former boss, someone who has always been unfailingly kind to me, unfailingly supportive to all of his 48 former clerks.  Every one of us would say that any time we have a career decision to make, one of the first people we call to ask for advice is judge Kavanaugh,” said Walker.

Walker says that Kavanaugh is a hard worker, something he saw up close and that he heard from Justice Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh clerked for years ago.

“The thing he would always mention about Judge Kavanaugh is how hard-working he had been.  He would say, ‘Brett was always in his chair when I’d get here in the morning.  He was always in his chair at his desk when I’d leave at night.  I’d say, ‘Brett, you work too hard.  You need to go home.’  But then I’d come back in the morning and he’d be right there in his chair,'” said Walker.

As a result of Kavanaugh’s work ethic, Walker says he really didn’t need his clerks to do a lot of work but he did include them in robust discussion about the cases.

“He always wanted to know what the law says.  What does the text say?  I’m quite sure he never asked his clerks, ‘What do you think is the best policy outcome for this case?,” said Walker.

“He wanted us to dig deep with him in terms of trying to figure out the meaning of the law, starting with the text and then going to structure, precedent, history, all the tools a judge with solid legal principles uses in order to try to find the right answer,” said Walker.

And Walker says Kavanaugh leaves his own opinions out of decisions as well.

“I know Judge Kavanaugh believes it’s the job of the judge to say what the law is and not what the law should be.  Judges should not be in the business of inventing law that they think would make the world a better place,” said Walker.  “He approached every issue without passion or prejudice for any party or any political outcome.”

Walker says Kavanaugh also has deep reverence for judicial precedent, as one can read in the judge’s 1,000-page book “The Law of Judicial Precedents.”

“What I saw in page after page and chapter after chapter is Judge Kavanaugh talking about the importance of respect for judicial precedents and that the virtues of having that respect include keeping the law settled, promoting consistency, promoting predictability and furthering the rule of law.

“That’s not to say there aren’t extraordinary circumstances when a precedent should be overruled,” said Walker, noting critical reversals in history such as Brown v. Board of Education reversed the “separate but equal” logic of Plessy v. Ferguson.

“Only under extraordinary circumstances should a precedent be overrruled.  That’s what Judge Kavanaugh says in his book.  He says in the book that a change in the court’s personnel should not throw former decisions open to reconsideration,” said Walker.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: Anthony Kennedy, Brett Kavanaugh, news, Supreme Court

Kennedy Responsible for Some ‘Real Horrible Decisions’

June 28, 2018 by GregC

http://dateline.radioamerica.org/podcast/6-28-staver-blog.mp3

As Washington gears up for one of the most contentious Supreme Court nominations in recent memory, many political figures and pundits are applauding the tenure of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, but Liberty Counsel Chairman Mathew Staver says Kennedy leaves a dark legacy on the moral fabric of America.

Shortly after the news of Kennedy’s retirement was announced, President Trump lavished praise on Kennedy.

“He’s been a great justice of the Supreme Court,” said Trump.  “He is a man who has displayed great vision.  He’s displayed tremendous vision and tremendous heart.”

And Staver admits that Kennedy has been a key voice and a vital vote on critical issues, including this month’s rulings in favor of Christian cake baker Jack Phillips and crisis pregnancy centers in California.  Kennedy also authored a stinging dissent against the decision from Chief Justice John Roberts that saved Obamacare.

“Certainly, he was on the right side of many cases and even the most recent cases that came out of the U.S. Supreme Court.  He was a fifth vote in that particular case or cases and made a huge difference,” said Staver.

But he says the cases where Kennedy got things badly wrong leave a lasting impact.

“I’m going to remember Justice Kennedy for some of the real horrible decisions that he ultimately inflicted because they have caused significant harm and even death,” said Staver.  “Between the LGBT agenda, culminating in the marriage decision, and particularly the abortion decisions, that really is the legacy of Justice Kennedy.”

On abortion, Kennedy ruled both for and against federal bans on partial-birth abortions, striking down the legislation in 2000 but upholding it in 2007.  However, it’s Kennedy’s role in the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision that deeply distresses Staver.

That case gave justices the opportunity to solidify or reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion nationwide.  Staver says Kennedy was initially part of a majority that would have reversed those rulings.

“For thirty days, (then-Chief Justice William) Rehnquist was writing the opinion and Kennedy was right there with him.  But he succumbed to lobbying pressure from Justices (Sandra Day) O’Connor, and (David) Souter.  After 30 days, he changed his mind,” said Staver.

“He flipped from the five in the majority to overrule the abortion case to flipping it and the minority became the majority.  Five individuals ultimately voted to uphold the abortion decisions, albeit somewhat modified,” said Staver.

He says Kennedy bears significant responsibility for the abortions since that day.

“The babies who have lost their lives since 1992, Justice Kennedy is the reason for that.  He is the reason for the people who have lost their lives and all the families that have been broken,” said Staver.

Kennedy also took the lead in multiple decisions related to the LGBT agenda.  He authored the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision striking down state sodomy laws and the 2013 United States v. Windsor ruling which struck down key portions of the Defense of Marriage Act.  His majority opinion two years later in Obergefell v Hodges declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

“In June 2015, he authored a horrible decision that has no basis in the Constitution, no basis in the court’s precedents – just an imposition of his will – in which he overturned marriage laws that understood the natural definition and order of marriage being between two people of opposite sex.  He struck it down and ushered in so-called same-sex marriage,” said Staver.

As the Senate braces for a monumental political fight over Kennedy’s successor, Kennedy’s place on the high court also resulted from a nasty political fight.  In 1987, President Reagan nominated Judge Robert Bork for the Supreme Court, but the nomination went down to defeat after a fierce Democratic opposition led by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.

Kennedy was ultimately Reagan’s third choice.  Staver says history would be much different if Bork had been confirmed.

“What a big difference the decisions would have been if Robert Bork had been confirmed instead of Kennedy,” said Staver.  “If you would have had Bork on the bench in 1992, you wouldn’t have abortion from 1992 to the present.  You wouldn’t have same-sex marriage from 2015 to the present,” said Staver.

President Trump will likely announce a nominee within the next few weeks and says it will come from his public list of 25 possible choices.  While Staver says the list is generally strong, some are preferable to others.

“No, I’m not mostly fine with whoever the president chooses.  Each one of these have to be individually vetted.  Not everybody is at the same level as (Justice Neil) Gorsuch,” said Staver.  “We need to have another person just like that, who has that commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.”

Staver would not name any preferences for the nomination but he did single out one name he would be very disappointed to see in appeals court judge William Pryor.

“Pryor’s on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.  He had some bad decisions with regards to the LGBT agenda, where he injected an activist viewpoint on his particular decision,” said Staver.

He says Trump and Senate Republicans have to get this pick right, as a litany of critical issues could come before the court in the coming years.

“If they do, abortion will become history.  We will stop the bloodshed of innocent children.  We need to make sure we have the right person with that judicial philosophy,” said Staver.  “The clash between the LGBT agenda and religious freedom and free speech, all these different things, plus more.  The second amendment, so many other things.  Our basic freedoms are on the line,” said Staver.

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Filed Under: News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: abortion, Anthony Kennedy, gay marriage, Gorsuch, List, news, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Trump

Kennedy’s Legacy, Dems Suffer Meltdown, Wild Political Stereotyping

June 28, 2018 by GregC

Listen to “Kennedy’s Legacy, Dems Suffer Meltdown, Wild Political Stereotyping” on Spreaker.
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America review Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 30 years on the Supreme Court and anticipate President Trump’s second opportunity to nominate a justice to the nation’s highest court. They then laugh at the hysterics of Chuck Schumer and other Democrats following Kennedy’s retirement. They also look at a report that suggests both Democrats and Republicans tend to stereotype the other side and are wildly inaccurate.

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Filed Under: congress, News & Politics, Podcasts Tagged With: 3 Martini Lunch, Anthony Kennedy, Chuck Schumer, democrats, Donald Trump, filibuster, National Review, Republicans, Senate, Stereotypes, Supreme Court

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