SCOTUSblog by Katie Bart 10/28/2019
If you let freedom ring, its tone would be civil. This was the resounding theme at events in Philadelphia this weekend featuring retired Justice Anthony Kennedy and Justice Neil Gorsuch, who both asserted that civility and liberty are imperative to the functioning of our democracy.
On Saturday at the Fair and Impartial Judiciary conference, Kennedy emphasized that judicial independence entails a willingness to put aside personal motivations – “to do not what we want but what we must.†One of Kennedy’s grandchildren, he said, asked him what he was doing on Saturday. When he said that he was going to talk about judicial independence, the grandchild questioned if that took the whole day, to which Kennedy’s wife Mary replied, “It’s taken him 43 years!â€
On Sunday evening at the National Constitution Center, Gorsuch presented Kennedy with the Liberty Medal. The Liberty Medal, which is accompanied by a $100,000 prize, is given each year by the Center to someone who has worked to secure and promote liberty to people around the world. Kennedy is the third justice to receive the honor since its inception in 1989, joining Justices Thurgood Marshall and Sandra Day O’Connor.
More:
https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/10/justice-kennedy-awarded-liberty-medal-by-the-national-constitution-center/
