OA186: Anthony Kennedy & the Future of the Supreme Court

Opening Arguments

Today's Rapid Response Friday comes after a busy week at the Supreme Court, capped off by the (somewhat) surprising announcement that Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy intends to retire as of July 31, 2018. We break down everything about this news, including:

• What the Trump administration is likely to do next
• Who President Trump might nominate to fill Kennedy's spot
• How the Democrats should respond
• What the next Supreme Court might look like
• How all of this plays in with the 2018 midterms and 2020 Presidential election
• And much, much more!

We're also going to bring you a bonus episode to make sure you're fully informed as to all the other goings-on in the law this week! After all that, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #82 involving the legality of a search for heroin. If you'd like to play along, just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag. We'll release the answer on next Tuesday's episode along with our favorite entry! Recent Appearances None! If you'd like to have either of us as a guest on your show, drop us an email at [e-mail]. Show Notes & Links

1. We broke down the "nuclear option" in Episode 59. Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would not recess for the summer on June 5.
2. Here are the (generally reliable) Cook Political Report ratings of the 2018 Senate races.
3. This is the Mother Jones article on Anthony Kennedy's 2017-2018 votes.
4. This is the list of Trump's 25 potential Supreme Court nominees.
5. These are the resources discussed in the future segment, including the When Every Vote Counts law review article, the Slate article on 5-4 splits, and the SCOTUSBlog data regarding the 2017-2018 term.
6. Finally, if you're feeling nostalgic, you might want to reread Obergefell v. Hodges while it's still good law. An d if you're feeling super optimistic, you can even check out the "Above the Law" blog post arguing that it will survive Kennedy's departure (it won't).

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