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Denniston on the Stevens's Retirement, Kennedy, and the Internal Dynamics of the Supreme Court

By Lawrence Solum

This is a must read.  Here is a taste:

If it has been so that the Supreme Court could properly be called the ?Kennedy Court,? because of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy?s grip on a tie-breaking vote much of the time, that may well be even more so when the Justices open a new Term next October. Without Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced Friday that he is retiring soon, Justice Kennedy moves into position to become a frequent ?assigning Justice.? That is a role not well known beyond Court-watchers, but it is quite important, and can make a difference in how ambitious, or cautious, the Court is in ruling on major, hard-fought cases.

But Kennedy also will no longer be an object of Justice Stevens? efforts to marshal a majority of the Court for results that are ? more often than not ? liberal rather than conservative. There is, at present, no other member of the Court?s liberal bloc likely to match Stevens? ability to persuade a sometimes-reluctant Kennedy to join with that bloc in a closely divided case. If Kennedy is to vote for liberal outcomes, it may well have to be more of a personal choice than it has seemed to be up to now.

Also, Scotusblog also has this round up on the Stevens retirement..

Full post as published by Legal Theory Blog on April 10, 2010 (boomark / email).