Justice Anthony Kennedy
The Commander
Decision under pressure, front of house, leads visibly from the front.
Justice Anthony Kennedy reads as The Commander because he held the decisive seat on a closely divided Supreme Court for decades and wielded it with authority. His majority opinions in landmark cases, including those defining liberty and equal protection, were convictions rendered as judgement rather than cautious compromises. He read the constitutional moment, assembled the coalition he needed, and wrote rulings that led from the front. Sharp judgement joined to mobilising resolve is the Commander's mark.
“Democracies only live if they are sustained over a period of time by a thoughtful, rational discourse, a discourse in which you respect the dignity of those with whom you disagree.”
“The components of freedom, the components of liberty, are something we must learn over time. So they used spacious words like life, liberty, and property.”
“One of my concerns, my present day concerns, is there's too much partisanship. What you look at is temperament, learning, background, reputation, whether you have those qualities of independence and caution that make for a good judge.”
The David Rubenstein Show: “Justice Anthony Kennedy”
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