Encyclopedia · Biography
Anthony Kennedy
Retired associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1988–2018)
Basic facts
- Full name
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Born
- July 23, 1936 · Sacramento, California
- Spouse
- Mary Davis Kennedy (m. 1963)
- Children
- Justin, Gregory, and Kristin
- Education
- Stanford University, B.A. (1958); London School of Economics (study); Harvard Law School, LL.B. (1961)
- Occupation
- Lawyer, judge, legal educator
- Judicial offices
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1975–1988); U.S. Supreme Court (1988–2018)
Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born 1936) is a retired American jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from February 1988 to July 2018. He was nominated to the high court by President Ronald Reagan following twelve years on the Ninth Circuit.
Family and education
Kennedy was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He graduated from Stanford University in 1958 after a period of study at the London School of Economics and received his law degree from Harvard in 1961. He married Mary Davis in 1963; the couple have three children: Justin, Gregory and Kristin.
Private practice and appellate service
Kennedy practiced law in San Francisco and Sacramento and taught constitutional law at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. President Gerald Ford appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. His federal judicial service therefore predates his Supreme Court appointment.
Supreme Court career
President Ronald Reagan nominated Kennedy in November 1987, following two unsuccessful Supreme Court nominations that year; the Senate confirmed Kennedy in February 1988. He participated in landmark decisions on abortion, LGBT rights, campaign finance, national security and the death penalty. His particular holdings and voting alignments are documented in a Congressional Research Service review rather than inferred from general political labels.
Retirement and succession
Kennedy announced retirement by letter dated June 27, 2018, effective July 31. President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh, a former Kennedy law clerk, to the resulting vacancy. Neil Gorsuch was also a Kennedy clerk; their clerkships are documented in official judicial and Senate materials.
References
- Supreme Court official retired justice biography
- Cornell Legal Information Institute, family and professional record
- Supreme Court Historical Society, service and nomination dates
- Kennedy retirement letter, June 27, 2018
- Congressional Research Service, Kennedy jurisprudence review
- Federal Judicial Center, Kavanaugh clerkship and succession
- Senate Judiciary Committee, Gorsuch clerkship
Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.