Foreword
On June 27, 2018, Justice Anthony Kennedy officially notified President Donald Trump of his retirement at the end of the following month. Over the course of his 31 terms as a justice, Kennedy had established himself as a conservative who was willing to side with the more liberal members of the court on hot-button issues like the death penalty, gay rights, and abortion. By naming his replacement, Trump had the opportunity to appoint a second justice to the Supreme Court and perhaps cement a conservative majority for a generation. In a public ceremony on July 9, the president announced his…
