Kennedy, Anthony M. (1936-)

Early Years

Anthony M. Kennedy was born on July 23, 1936, in Sacramento, California. His father was a lawyer and lobbyist at the state capital, and his mother worked as a secretary for the California Senate. As a young boy, Anthony served as a page in the California Senate and worked in his father's law office. In high school, he was a model student who made the honor roll and was an altar boy for his Roman Catholic parish church.

Kennedy enrolled at Stanford University, where he majored in history and political science. At Stanford, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and completed his requirements for graduation in three years. He spent the last year of his studies attending the London School of Economics. Kennedy was then accepted to Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude in 1961.

After graduating from law school, Kennedy returned to California, where he briefly was employed for a San Francisco law firm. Two years later, when his father died, Kennedy returned to Sacramento to take over his father's law practice. Like his father, Kennedy became an influential lobbyist. He also pursued his academic interests by teaching constitutional law at McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific. At this time, he married a childhood friend, Mary Davis.

While a lawyer and lobbyist, Kennedy developed friendships with important officials such as future U.S. attorney general and aide to Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese. When Reagan became governor, he recruited Kennedy to help draft a tax-limitation amendment to the state constitution known as Proposition 1. While the initiative failed, it helped lay the foundation for success of its successor, Proposition 13.

On the Bench

Governor Reagan was impressed with Kennedy, and when a vacancy opened on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Reagan recommended Kennedy for the seat. President Gerald Ford followed Reagan's recommendation, and at the age of 38, Kennedy became the youngest federal appellate court judge in the nation. Kennedy served as a judge on the Ninth Circuit for the next 13 years. Although a conservative on what many regarded as the most liberal circuit, Judge Kennedy developed a reputation for having an open mind and deciding cases based on the immediate facts and the law.

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