Justice Anthony Kennedy (Photo by Staci Zaretsky)
Each of my colleagues looks at every case, and people were very gracious not to say I was the swing vote — that has this visual image of this going back and forth. To that, I say, “Look, the cases swing. I don’t.”
— Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, in comments given on whether he found that it took a personal toll or whether it was difficult to always be perceived as in the middle of controversial decisions throughout his tenure on the Supreme Court, during the Fair & Impartial Judiciary Symposium held at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Kennedy was later awarded the Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center for his efforts to educate Americans about the Constitution through civic education and civil dialogue.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.