US: Supreme Court retirement prompts fears over Trump nominee

The retirement of US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has sparked fears that an appointment by President Donald Trump could strengthen conservative influence on the court.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Justice Kennedy was a “critical moderating force on the Supreme Court for decades”.

He cast the deciding vote in a number of important judgments which protected freedom of speech, prevented the overturning of abortion rights, limited state anti-immigration laws, stopped the execution of children, and preserved affirmative action, ACLU said.

David Cole, legal director at ACLU, said: “We call on the president and the Congress to appoint a nominee who will respect the Constitution, the institutions of our democracy, and the rights of the most vulnerable among us: those whose rights can be lost in the political shuffle. This appointment is about our future as a nation of laws and of people whose humanity and rights need to be respected.

“Trump’s nominee must be fully vetted by the Senate, and the American people deserve a deliberate — not rushed — nomination process. The record of the nominee should dictate the timeline, not any arbitrary dates imposed by a Senate leader.”

Echoing ACLU, Democrat minority leader Nancy Pelosi said a Trump nominee threatens “to destroy a generation of progress for women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, civil rights, workers’ rights and health care”. She added: “The future of our democracy is at stake.”