THIS IS THE CBS TO NEWS SPECIAL
REPORT I'M JEFF GLOR IN NEW
YORK.
WE ARE ON THE AIR BECAUSE THERE
IS HUGE NEWS THAT THE SUPREME
COURT JUSTICE ANTHONY KENNEDY
HAS JUST ANNOUNCED HE IS
RETIRING.
IN A LETTER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP
KENNEDY WROTE FOR A MEMBER OF
THE LEG I PROFESSION IT IS THE HIGH
HONOR TO SERVE THIS COURT.
KENNEDY WAS NOMINATED TO THE
HIGH COURT BY PRESI WRONG REAGAN.
HE WAS A SWING VOTE IN THESE
PAST 30 YEARS.
HIS RETIREMENT GIVES TRUMP A
CHANCE TO NOMINATE A SECOND
JUSTICE TO THE SUPREME COURT AND
FURTHER CEMENTS THE CONSERVATIVE
POSITION ON THE COURT.
WE WANT TO TURN TO JAN CRAWFORD.
JAN, SURPRISE OR NO.
JUSTICE KENNEDY HAS BEEN
SAYING PRIVATELY HE WAS
CONSIDERING RETIREMENT.
I THINK IT WAS WIDELY EXPECTED
HE WOULD RETIRE LAST YEAR OR
MAYBE THIS YEAR.
I DON'T THINK THIS IS A BIG
SURPRISE BUT THE HEADLINE IS
WHAT YOU SAID.
THIS GIVES PRESIDENT TROUBLE HIS
SECOND -- TRUMP HIS SECOND
NOMINATION AND THIS IS TO TURN
THE SUPREME COURT TO THE RIGHT
FOR A GENERALIZATION.
JUSTICE KENNEDY WAS A
CONSERVEATIVE BUT HE HAD A
LIBERAL SIDE AND HE WOULD SIDE
WITH THEM ON THOSE BIG SOCIAL
ISSUES PEOPLE CARE ABOUT WHETHER
IT WAS ABORTION, AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION OR GAY RIGHTS.
IN FACT HE WROTE ALL OF THE
DECISIONS PRESERVING GAY RIGHTS
AND SAME SEX MARRIAGE
NATIONWIDE.
THIS WILL BE SEEN AS A
TREMENDOUS BLOW TO THE LEFT AND
TO DEMOCRATS WHO I AM CERTAIN
WILL BE STUNNED BECAUSE IN MANY
WAYS DEMOCRATS MADE ONE OF THE
BIGGEST POLITICAL BLUNDERS IN
MODERN HISTORY BY TRYING TO
FILIBUSTER JUSTICE NEAL GORSUCH
LAST YEAR WHO REPLACE THE
JUSTICEALLY AWE.
REPUBLICANS THEN INVILLAFRANCAD
THE NUCLEAR OPTION DID AWAY WITH
FILIBUSTERS FOR THE SUPREME
COURT AND MEANS IT WILL BE VERY
DIFFICULT FOR DEMOCRATS TO STOP
PRESIDENT TROUBLE'S NOMINEE FOR
THIS POSITION.
WE EXPECT PRESIDENT TRUMP TO GO
THROUGH THE LIST OF NON-KNEES
THAT HE HAS COMPILED.
THEY ARE SOLIDLY CONSERVATIVE.
PROBABLY I'M WILLING TO BET MORE
CONSERVEATIVE ON SOCIAL ISSUES
THAN JUSTICE KENNEDY HAS BEEN
WHO AGAIN HAS THAT LIBERTARIAN
STREAK.
BUT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A BATTLE
IN WASHINGTON NOW OVER THE
FUTURE OF THE COURT.
Jeff: KENNEDY SURPRISED
REAGAN AND SURPRISED MANY
CONSERVATIVES AFTER HE WAS
INSTALLED.
WELL HE FRUSTRATED
CONSERVATIVES.
JUSTICE KENNEDY WAS THE THIRD
NOMINEE TO FILL THE SEAT BACK
WHEN HE WAS NOMINATED IN 1987
BECAUSE THE FIRST TWO NOMINEES
ROBERT BORK WAS VOTED DOWN IN
THE SENATE AND THEN DOUGLAS
GINSBERG A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT
JUDGE HAD TO WITHDRAW HIS
NOMINATION.
IN SOME WAY HE WAS KIND OF
SEEN AS A CONSENSUS PICK.
SOMEONE THAT COULD GET CONFIRMED
AND HE WAS CONFIRMED IN 1988.
THEN HE GOT ON THE COURT AND HE
BEGAN ISSUING A NUMBER OF
CONSERVEATIVE DECISIONS AND HE
WAS QUITE CONSERVATIVE THIS TERM
JEFF BY THE WAY.
AND REMEMBER HE DID WRITE THAT
VERY IMPASSIONED DISSENT IN THE
OBAMACARE CASE WHEN THE COURT
WITH JOHN ROBERTS VOTED TO
UPHOUPPRESIDENT OBAMA ACHIEVEMENT.
HE WAS CONSIDERED A SWING VOTE.
HE WAS A KEY VOTE IN REFUSING TO
OVERTURN ROW VER ROE VERSUS WADE.
IF NOT VOTING ON THOSE SOCIAL
ISSUES HE CONSTRAINED THE
BOULDER CONSERVATIVES ON THE
COURT.
THEY MAY BE WILLING TO GO MUCH
FURTHER.
LET'S END AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OR
GREATLY SCALE BACK ABORTION
RIGHTS 7.
AND JUSTICE KENNEDY WAS PULLING
THEM BACK A LITTLE BIT.
THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING HIM HE
WOULD NEVER SAY NEVER ON SOME OF
THOSE SOCIAL ISSUES.
THEY WILL HAVE A NOMINEE WHO IS
WILLING TO BE A LITTLE MORE
BOLD.
Jeff: JAN, THE SCALIA SEAT
WAS OPENED FOR 14 MONTHS.
HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT THIS SEAT
TO BE VACANT FORTH.
NOT THAT LONG.
I EXPECT YOU'LL SEE A NEW
JUSTICE NOMINATED BY PRESIDENT
TROUBLE AND CONFIRMED BY THE
SENATE OVER THE SUMMER AND IN
PLACE TO HEAR ARGUMENTS WHEN THE
JUSTICES RETURN FROM THEIR
RECESS THE FIRST MONDAY IN
OCTOBER.
AND THERE WILL BE VERY LITTLE
DEMOCRATS CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Jeff: JAN CRAWFORD FROM
DC.
WE'LL SEE YOU MUCH MORE ON
TONIGHT'S CBS EVENING NEWS, JAN.
SO MUCH TO DISCUSS WITH THE
SEISMIC NEWS FROM THE SUPREME
COURT THIS AFTERNOON.
THE RETIREMENT OF JUSTICE
KENNEDY LONG LONG A SWING VOTE.
WE'LL HAVE MUCH MORE ON THIS ON
YOUR LOCAL NEWS.
ALSO ON OUR STREAMING NETWORK
CBSN AND TONIGHT ON THIS CBS
EVENING NEWS.
AGAIN THE NEWS FROM THE SUPREME