Will Retiring Supreme Court Justice Return To His Sacramento Roots?
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Local reaction is pouring in after the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's big announcement.
The justice, who grew up in Land Park and attended McClatchy High, is retiring from the country's highest court after more than three decades. With such strong connections to the Capital City, some locals are wondering if Kennedy will retire in his hometown.
Kennedy attended McGeorge School of Law in Oak Park, where he's now seen as a hero.
"He's just a gentle kind man who people like," said McGeorge Dean Michael Hunter Schwartz.
McGeorge School of Law admires Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy so much they hung his portrait inside the school cafeteria alongside the alumni he taught who also went on to become honorable judges.
"One of the most wonderful things about him is [when] he sees former students ten twenty years later... he remembers them," said Schwartz.
The 81-year-old Justice taught at McGeorge part-time for more than three decades, while also serving the Supreme Court.
And even when he hangs up his robe next month, he'll still be connected to the law. Schwartz said Kennedy will teach with McGeorge's study abroad program in Austria this summer for the 28th year.
"I'm hoping he'll do more teaching here," Schwartz said. "That's my dream, to find a way to bring him here more often."
But back inside the McGeorge cafeteria, Law Student Peter Scott is more focused on the future of the Supreme Court. A court soon to be without one of its longest-serving and highly respected Justices.
"When people think of President Trump choosing a Supreme Court Justice there's gonna be a big outcry," Scott said.
President Trump says he plans to get to work right away on picking his replacement for Kennedy.
