Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court

By Michael D. Shear

WASHINGTON — Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced on Wednesday that he will retire this summer, setting in motion a furious fight over the future of the Supreme Court and giving President Trump the chance to cement a conservative judicial philosophy on the American legal system for generations.

A critical swing vote on the sharply polarized court for nearly three decades, Justice Kennedy, 81, embraced liberal views of gay rights, abortion and the death penalty even as he helped conservatives trim voting rights, block gun control measures and unleash campaign spending by corporations.

His replacement by a conservative justice — something Mr. Trump has vowed to insist upon — is certain to reshape the country’s legal landscape and could imperil a variety of landmark Supreme Court precedents on social issues, like abortion, where Justice Kennedy frequently sided with his liberal colleagues.

The ideological shift caused by Justice Kennedy’s departure could leave Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., himself a reliable conservative appointed by George W. Bush, as the decisive vote on a court whose other justices may soon include four committed liberals and four die-hard conservatives.

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