Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (ret.) has been a foundational figure at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law for over 50 years. As a long-time supporter and faculty of the Summer Salzburg program and a professor of Constitutional Law and Comparative Free Speech at McGeorge, Justice Kennedy’s influence is still strongly seen today.
Justice Kennedy graduated from McClatchy High School in 1954 and pursued his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where he developed a passion for constitutional law. He graduated with honors in political science in 1958, after also studying at the London School of Economics. Justice Kennedy earned his law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1961 and served in the California Army National Guard from 1961-1962.
Justice Kennedy worked in private practice in San Francisco and Sacramento, eventually taking over his father’s law practice. In 1965, he joined the faculty at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, where he taught as a Professor of Law for over 54 years. Kennedy’s tenure at McGeorge was marked by his dedication to teaching and mentoring law students, and he continued to teach in the school’s European summer sessions in Salzburg, making him the longest-serving faculty member in McGeorge’s history.
Justice Kennedy’s judicial career began with his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975, where he became the youngest federal appellate judge in the country. His case-by-case approach and polite demeanor earned him respect, and in 1988, he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Known as a swing vote, Justice Kennedy authored significant opinions on individual rights, including the landmark decisions in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Romer v. Evans, Boumediene v. Bush, and Obergefell v. Hodges.
Justice Kennedy retired from the Supreme Court on July 31, 2018, leaving a legacy of advocacy for individual freedoms and a lasting impact on the McGeorge School of Law community.
Justice Kennedy’s impact can be felt throughout Sacramento. The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court, an organization of judges, justices, law professors, attorneys, and law students dedicated to professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence in the legal profession is located on the Sacramento Campus. The Inn has won more honors from the National Inn of Court than any other in the United States.
In 2021, McGeorge partnered with the Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Library and Learning Center. Housed in the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse, the center’s mission is to foster respect for the rule of law and spotlight the independent judiciary’s role in protecting the constitutional and civil rights of all people.
Additionally, thanks to a generous gift from the Angelo and Sofia Tsakopoulos Family Foundation, the law school established the Anthony M. Kennedy Endowed Chair, which is currently held by McGeorge Professor Leslie Gielow Jacobs, an expert on First Amendment Law. Parker White, ’80, further honored Justice Kennedy’s time at McGeorge with the creation of the Anthony M. Kennedy Endowed Fellow Scholarship Fund, supporting the Kennedy Fellows program by offering full-tuition scholarships.
Throughout 2024, the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law will celebrate members of its vast community member network in honor of the school’s 100-year anniversary. This post is part of a series highlighting 100 exceptional McGeorge School of Law community members.
Stay tuned for more blog posts as we celebrate the law school’s centennial anniversary.