Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on November 11, 1987, and took the oath of office on February 18, 1988, serving until July 31, 2018.
Kennedy became the most senior Associate Justice on the court following the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor in 2006, he has been the swing vote on many of the Court's 5–4 decisions. He has authored the majority ruling in many of these cases, including Lawrence v. Texas, Boumediene v. Bush, Citizens United v. FEC, and Obergefell v. Hodges.
On June 27, 2018, Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, effective July 31.