Kennedy holds key votes as Supreme Court tackles gerrymandering religious liberty
Anthony M. Kennedy
As usual  for the past several years  the answers likely will come from  Justice Anthony M. Kennedy   the 81-year old Reagan appointee who regularly holds the deciding vote when the rest of the court is evenly split along ideological lines.
All eyes will be on  Kennedy  even more than normal as this yearâs term could be  his  last.  The justice  has turned away questions about  his  plans  but Republicans on Capitol Hill predict  Kennedy  will retire soon  although  of course  they predicted the same thing last year. If  Kennedy  does step down  President Trump could replace  him  with a younger  more reliable conservative and tilt the court decidedly to the right.
For now  however  lawyers in the biggest cases will focus on how to win over  Kennedy . That explains why the gay rights laws in the blue states and the partisan election maps in the red states are both being challenged as threats to the 1st Amendmentâs guarantee of freedom of speech.
 Kennedy  has been the courtâs leader in striking down laws that discriminated against gays and lesbians  but  he  also has been a steady champion of free speech. Religious rights advocates insist that religious freedom is in danger in this country  but in court  they rely mostly on the 1st Amendment principle that the government cannot force someone to speak its message.
Their argument  like the one in the bakerâs case  is aimed at  Kennedy . The last time the high court considered political gerrymandering â and decided not to act  â Kennedy  wrote that the court might be more open to a future appeal based on free-speech principles.
âThe 1st Amendment may be the more relevant constitutional provision in future cases â  he  wrote in that 2004 case  noting that states arguably were âpenalizing citizens because â¦ of their association with a political party or their expression of political views.â
As usual  for the past several years  the answers likely will come from  Justice  [TGT]    the 81-year old Reagan appointee who regularly holds the deciding vote when the rest of the court is evenly split along ideological lines.
All eyes will be on  Kennedy  even more than normal as this yearâs term could be  his  last.  The justice  has turned away questions about  his  plans  but Republicans on Capitol Hill predict  Kennedy  will retire soon  although  of course  they predicted the same thing last year. If  Kennedy  does step down  President Trump could replace  him  with a younger  more reliable conservative and tilt the court decidedly to the right.
For now  however  lawyers in the biggest cases will focus on how to win over  Kennedy . That explains why the gay rights laws in the blue states and the partisan election maps in the red states are both being challenged as threats to the 1st Amendmentâs guarantee of freedom of speech.
 Kennedy  has been the courtâs leader in striking down laws that discriminated against gays and lesbians  but  he  also has been a steady champion of free speech. Religious rights advocates insist that religious freedom is in danger in this country  but in court  they rely mostly on the 1st Amendment principle that the government cannot force someone to speak its message.
Their argument  like the one in the bakerâs case  is aimed at  Kennedy . The last time the high court considered political gerrymandering â and decided not to act  â Kennedy  wrote that the court might be more open to a future appeal based on free-speech principles.
âThe 1st Amendment may be the more relevant constitutional provision in future cases â  he  wrote in that 2004 case  noting that states arguably were âpenalizing citizens because â¦ of their association with a political party or their expression of political views.â