Kennedy swings Supreme Court in his direction

Roberts makes overtures
The liberal justices’ pursuit of Kennedy has been made harder by Roberts’ arrival as the amiable leader of the court’s conservatives, Kmiec said.

Roberts appears more interested than his predecessor, the late William Rehnquist, in seeking to attract colleagues’ support, especially Kennedy’s, even if that means less strongly worded opinions, Kmiec said.

“So you now have the chief justice and Justice Stevens, two highly intelligent but remarkably different judicial philosophies contending for the judicial soul of Anthony Kennedy,” Kmiec said. “What’s not clear to me yet is who the ultimate victor is.”

Decisions in cases involving the disputed procedure known as partial-birth abortion and public schools’ use of racial criteria to assign students to schools as a means of promoting racial diversity could help determine the answer.

Acting as an anchor
There is widespread agreement among conservative and liberal scholars that Kennedy can be expected to be the fifth vote on both issues.

Moreover, his decision to join one side or the other probably will limit the reach of the decision.

“There’s no question that unless Kennedy changes his stripes in this new more conservative court, he is not going to generally be willing to go as far as the Roberts majority might like to in some very specific areas” said Stephen Wermiel, a law professor at American University.

David Garrow, the Cambridge University historian who has written widely on the court, said Stevens’ decision in the global warming case also showed how Kennedy can keep the liberals in check.

“Stevens is choosing to say that which Kennedy agrees with,” Garrow said. “Stevens may be playing the music, but Kennedy is choosing the score.”

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Reid confident in revised health bill Analysis: Obama takes pragmatic climate path Wrap-up bill clears Senate hurdle Potential Reid opponent has deep pockets Liberal MoveOn.org opposes Senate health bill   U.S., others broker modest climate deal Reid plans Christmas Eve passage of health bill CQ: Women carry corporate success to campaigns Poll: Brown still leads in Calif. governor's race Obama faces high-risk climate talks Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: