The New York Times never discouraged U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy from retiring during the Obama administration, but the newspaper’s editorial board is now literally begging him to stick around.
Headlined “Please Stay, Justice Kennedy,” the open letter in Saturday’s edition implored him to remain on the high court amid rumors of his retirement, saying “[y]our departure right now from the Supreme Court would have dire consequences for the country.”
Dear Justice Kennedy, please don’t go. Sincerely, America https://t.co/ImoBRuQbTK
— NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) April 29, 2018
Why? If Mr. Kennedy leaves, his seat would be filled by President Trump, which would mean “the court will have a locked-in right-wing majority for the rest of most of our lifetimes. They [Republicans] won’t even have to steal a seat to do it.”
The 81-year-old jurist has for years played the role of swing vote on a court with four liberal and four conservative justices, making him “the most powerful member of the most powerful court in the country.”
Conservatives have long argued that the judiciary has become too powerful as courts overreach and legislatures are increasingly reluctant to make decisions on highly charged issues that will inevitably offend one voting bloc or another.
“No matter which way it goes, the next Supreme Court justice will decide the balance of power of an institution that has arguably become more powerful than the Congress and as powerful (at least) as the presidency,” said Kim R. Holmes, executive vice president of the Heritage Foundation.
And he wasn’t even referring to Mr. Kennedy. His article, written in 2016, came after the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who was ultimately succeeded by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Mr. Kennedy, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and sworn in on Feb. 18, 1988, has served 30 years on the high court.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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