Why did Justice Kennedy hire 4 clerks for the upcoming Oct 2018 term?

[NightWatcher]

Unless he was pressured into leaving, this doesn't make sense. His son's connections to Deutchebank are very troubling.

http://thehill.com/regulation/367950-ginsburg-kennedy-hire-law-clerks-for-future-supreme-court-terms

Meanwhile, Kennedy’s recent law clerk hires are also telling.

According to Above the Law, which first reported the law clerk news, he’s selected four clerks for the October 2018 term. The news may signal the court’s usual swing vote isn’t planning to retire at the end of the current term as rumored.

Sam Erman, an associate professor of law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, who clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens and then Kennedy, said it’s not uncommon for the justices to hire their law clerks for future terms this far in advance.

Erman also noted that retired justices are each allowed one law clerk.

[jberryhill]

1. Because it is great for their resumes

And it also prevented the rumor mill from predicting his retirement with accuracy.

[Amishman]

4. This, he probably wanted to quiet the rumor mill and enjoy his last term in peace

He's 81, has been talking retirement for years, and while moderate he is a conservative. He is a smart man and knows the Republicans could easily lose the Senate in a few months. His ideology probably motivated him to retire now and maintain the rightward slant of the court. His retirement sucks but it makes sense without needing conspiracy theories.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

6. Bingo

Further, a retired Justice still retains one clerk. The other 3 "orphaned" clerks are traditionally picked up by the remaining justices.

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Because he wasn't pressured to retire prior until last week, when the Blue Wave seems apparent.

[oberliner]

3. Standard practice

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. No, it isn't.

Hiring four law clerks signaled that he was intending to stay for another term. It's possible that since hiring the clerks he was diagnosed with some health problem that made him decide to retire; otherwise it looks more like that was a ruse to conceal his intent to do so until the end of the term. This is not the usual way retirements are handled (and it was also a shitty thing to do to the four clerks he hired, unless his successor intends to keep them on).

[jberryhill]

9. "also a shitty thing to do to the four clerks he hired"

Meh, would you rather have or not have some formulation of "selected to clerk for Justice Kennedy" on your cv or not?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. I guess it would depend on what job you were applying for.

It might be a useful credential for some; not so much for others. I'd guess that anyone who had wanted to be one of Kennedy's clerks wouldn't be applying for a job at the ACLU, for example; but a big corporate law firm might see it as a plus.

[EffieBlack]

21. The ACLU would snap up a Kennedy law clerk ...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Maybe they would... but would they want to work for the ACLU?

[EffieBlack]

23. Possibly.

Law clerks often share their justices’ views and philosophies, but not always.

[oberliner]

12. Yes, it is

Especially if he was entertaining the possibility of sticking around past the current term, which he might have been. This has happened with past justices who ended up retiring. They would retain one of the four clerks and farm out the other three.

[sl8]

36. Do you have some examples or citations?

I've been Googling up a storm, but have only turned up information regarding the last four Justices that have retired. None of them had hired a full complement of clerks before announcing their retirement. Stevens had hired one, instead of four, before his retirement (retired Supreme Court Justices are allowed one clerk).

I haven't found much regarding Marshall and previous justices, regarding hiring clerks prior to announcing their retirement.

[mythology]

24. Citation needed

Every article I can find merely says that it hints that he was staying, nothing that says it is a requirement or even a general pattern.

[unblock]

5. he wasn't then sure he would retire.

whether there was pressure and/or bribes is worth investigating but remains to be seen.

it's also possible he simply wanted to avoid the risk of a democratic senate having a say in his replacement.
a democratic senate probably is a bit more likely today than it was when he hired his clerks.

[Sanity Claws]

8. What happens to the 4 clerks?

These are prestigious positions and the would-be SC law clerks must have foregone other opportunities to accept them.
I'm sure that the 4 individuals have great resumes and will find something else on short notice but the opportunities are not the same as when they accepted this illusory opportunity.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

13. They will be fine

1 stays with Kennedy as retired Justices retain 1 clerk since they technically aren't retired, the other 3 will taken on by the remaining Justices.

[yellerpup]

10. Maybe he is retiring because of extortion.

His son was Trump's banker. They've got something over him. He wouldn't have hired clerks if he'd intended to stay.

[NightWatcher]

11. It does smell fishier than the tuna salad sub I left in my car last night.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. Or the uneaten cat food in the garbage can.

[yellerpup]

17. Thats funny.

You remind me of my cousin!

[defacto7]

28. Maybe that's one of the little tidbits the GOP

passed on to Trump from the investigation per Senate enquiry.

[yellerpup]

29. That's what I was thinking.

It had to be the target who tipped him off. Didn't Trump say a little something like, "he will be able to retire with respect?" He was shaken down, and now he is paying (for his) respect. He most likely caved for his son's sake.

[duforsure]

14. Between trump pressuring him

And the media exposing Kennedy's son has given trump over 2.5 billion in loans , and kind of makes you wonder how much found it way into Kennedy's pockets from trump, and his kids funneling it to him. Did he used that to force him out with?

[yellerpup]

18. Perhaps his son is a witness to or participant in a financial crime.

If he is a suspect under investigation, I can see that very easily played into extortion. The judge obviously did not intend to retire.

[Cha]

19. Because he wasn't thinking about retiring

until trump bribed him?

Link to tweet

[FM123]

27. that sounds about right....

[yellerpup]

30. Perfect.

Love the illustration.

[Cha]

31. I got it from Soph.. passing

it on 'cause I thought it was perfect, too, yellerpup

[onenote]

32. or maybe he wasn't certain about retiring 8 months ago when he was hiring clerks

SCOTUS justices start interviewing (directly or indirectly) prospective clerks about a year in advance and usually have their clerks lined up before the end of the year -- and that appears to be the case with Kennedy, who had made hiring decisions for the October 2018 term back in December 2017.

So maybe he wasn't sure what he was going to do. In that situation, the logical thing to do would be to hire clerks, since the deeper into the year, the more difficult it would get (and other justices might have gobbled up the most attractive candidates).

While I opted not to pursue a court clerkship while in law school, several of my classmates did. Those that accepted positions with older judges did so with the knowledge that the judge that hired them might decide to retire by the time their clerkships were scheduled to start.

[yellerpup]

35. Thanks for the insight.

Must be frustrating to be on the fence about your clerkship for so long.

[Tatiana]

20. C'mon we know. He was planning to go for another term.

And then the Mafia pResident told him he was done. And maybe showed him some kompromat.

So he retired (under duress, IMO).

Watch his press conference. This doesn't look like a man happy to leave the bench. It looks like a man with a knife to his throat, with Gorsuch making sure he toes the party line.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. So what's the end game? Replace him with

a pawn...sure...but to win the vote on what? Abortion? Trump Indictment? It's got to be something that directly affects that mofo

[Tatiana]

34. This is about consolidating power.

My personal opinion is that they know the Republican base is a bit depressed (see the Alabama Senate result and recent Oklahoma primary results). If there is one thing the Republicans will rush to the polls for, it is the Supreme Court and overturning Roe vs. Wade. I'm sure they've done some polling -- that's why Kellyanne is still there. They can mobilize their base with the thought of a new Supreme Court seat.

They are hoping to stop the "blue wave" that is most certainly coming to a CD near you.

The Russians are still involved and Trump needs to ensure that there will be no repercussions from the conspiracies and illegal activities he has engaged in (and continues to engage in, IMO). I believe this fucker thinks he can pardon himself and wants a court with people who have taken a loyalty oath to him telling him he can.

[andym]

25. There may be more benign reasons such as recent health concerns.

that informed his retirement.

[Jakes Progress]

26. Bought off. kochs likely.

Deals for he or his son or both.

Or threatened. By any number of those in power.