Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1988. Appointed by conservative President Ronald Reagan, he acts as the Court’s swing vote in some cases, and as a result has held special prominence in many politically charged 5-4 decisions.

Although appointed by a President who was both Republican and conservative, Kennedy’s tenure on the Court has seen him take a somewhat mixed path.

In 1992, Kennedy joined O’Connor and David Souter in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), which re-affirmed the Roe v. Wade decision recognizing the right to ABORTION under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Kennedy has often taken a libertarian perspective in cases involving GAY RIGHTS. He wrote the Court’s opinion in the controversial 1996 case, Romer v. Evans, invalidating a provision in the Colorado Constitution denying homosexuals the right to bring local discrimination claims. In 2003, he authored the Court’s opinion Lawrence v. Texas which invalidated criminal prohibitions against homosexual sodomy under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, overturning the Court’s previous contrary ruling in 1986’s Bowers v. Hardwick.

“Anthony Kennedy.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 1 May 2007, 15:09 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 May 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anthony_Kennedy&oldid=127433500>.

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