Retired Justice Kennedy Says Supreme Court Will Work in ‘Inspiring Way’

(Bloomberg) -- Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy said the public will soon see the U.S. Supreme Court working in an "inspiring way," making one of his first public appearances since the fractious fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Kennedy, whose retirement this summer let President Donald Trump nominate Kavanaugh to fill the vacancy, declined to comment directly on his successor. Kavanaugh’s confirmation created what could be the most conservative court in generations.

"The public will very soon see that the court is operating in a collegial, deliberative, thoughtful, inspiring way," Kennedy said in an interview at the University of Virginia School of Law for "The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations" on Bloomberg TV. "Over a very short time, you will see that the system has worked and these justices are working very well with their colleagues."

Kennedy, 82, defended the court’s controversial 2010 Citizens United decision, which let corporations and unions spend unlimited sums on political causes. Critics blame the ruling, which Kennedy wrote, for ushering in a new wave of campaign spending.

"It’s true that there’s the problem of money and politics," Kennedy said. "But I think we just have to address it some other way."

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Stohr in Washington at gstohr@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Justin Blum, Mike Dorning

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