Anthony Kennedy
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Position:
Associate Justice
Judicial Offices:
Anthony Kennedy was nominated by President Ford to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; he took oath of office May 30, 1975 and served for 12 years. While on this Court, he served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Judicial Center. He was later nominated by President Reagan to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; he was affirmed by a Senate 97-0 vote on Feb 11, 1988. Kennedy took an oath of office on February 18, 1988.
Family:
Anthony M. Kennedy was born July 23, 1936 in Sacramento, California. The second of his parents' three children, he grew up in a quiet rural community. His father worked as a lawyer and had a well-established law practice; his mother was involved in many Sacramento Civic activities. Kennedy married Mary Davis on June 29, 1963 and had three children: Justin Anthony, Gregory Davis, and Kristin Marie. Kennedy is currently 62 years old.
Education:
Kennedy attended local public institutions and upon graduation from high school, attended Stanford University from 1954-57. For one year, he studied abroad at the London School of Economics from 1957-58 and graduated from Stanford U. with a A.B., earning a Phi Beta Kappa key in 1958. After Stanford, Kennedy continued his studies at Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude with his LL.B. in 1961.
Law Practice:
Kennedy was admitted to the California bar in 1962 and the U. S. Tax Court bar in 1971. His experience includes practicing as an Associate with Thelen, Marrin, John & Bridges, San Francisco, 1961-63, and taking over his father's practice in Sacramento when his father unexpectedly passes away, 1963-67. He then became partner of Evans, Jackson & Kennedy in Sacramento, 1967-75.
Law Teaching:
Kennedy served as an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, 1965-1988.
Other Offices:
Kennedy was part of the California Army National Guard, 1961; a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States Advisory Panel on Financial Disclosure Reports and Judicial Activities, which was later renamed the Advisory Committee on Codes of Conduct, 1979-87. He was also on the Committee on Pacific Territories, 1979-1988 and later named chairman in 1982; on the board of the Federal Judicial Center, 1987-1988; a member of the American Bar Association, Sacramento County Bar Association, State Bar of California, a Phi Beta Kappa; and on the board of student advisors. He was also a Harvard faculty member from 1960-61.
More Biographical Information:
- Anthony Kennedy From the Oyez Project (Northwestern University).
- Anthony M. Kennedy From the Supreme Court History Society.
- Changed Path for Court? New Balance is Held by 3 Cautious Justices From the New York Times. (Registration Required)
- Judges of the United States Courts From the Federal Judicial Center
- Justice Kennedy From the Legal Information Institute (Cornell University).
- The Justices of the Supreme Court From the U.S. Supreme Court. In Adobe PDF format.
- Kennedy, Anthony McLeod From Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Restrained Pragmatist: Anthony M. Kennedy From the New York Times. (Registration Required)
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