Anthony Kennedy

Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on November 11, 1987, and took the oath of office on February 18, 1988, serving until July 31, 2018.

Anthony Kennedy
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
In office February 18, 1988 – July 31, 2018
Nominated by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Lewis Powell
Succeeded by	Brett Kavanaugh
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
In office May 30, 1975 – February 18, 1988
Nominated by	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Charles Merrill
Succeeded by	Pamela Rymer
Personal details
Born	Anthony McLeod Kennedy (1936-07-23) July 23, 1936 (age 88) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican[1]
Spouse(s)	Mary Davis (1963–present)
Children	3
Education	Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (LLB) London School of Economics
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	California Army National Guard United States Army National Guard
Years of service	1961

Kennedy became the most senior Associate Justice on the court following the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016.^[2][3] after the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor in 2006, he was the swing vote on many of the Court's 5–4 decisions.^[4][5][6][7] He authored the majority ruling in many of these cases, including Lawrence v. Texas, Boumediene v. Bush, Citizens United v. FEC, and Obergefell v. Hodges.

On June 27, 2018, Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, effective July 31.^[8][9]

Background

Kennedy was born in Sacramento, California, on July 23, 1936. He went to Harvard University, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics. He was a private lawyer, a professor, and in 1975, he was appointed by Gerald Ford to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1988, Ronald Reagan nominated him for the Supreme Court. He became a member of the court on February 18, 1988. He has two sons and a daughter.