Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Justice Anthony Kennedy, Faint-Hearted Libertarian?

Damon Root | 12.9.2009 4:25 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Over at the Social Science Research Network, the Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro has posted his forthcoming Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy article "A Faint-Hearted Libertarian at Best: The Sweet Mystery of Justice Anthony Kennedy." Here's the abstract:

This is a review of Helen J. Knowles's book, 'The Tie Goes to Freedom: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on Liberty" (Rowman & Littlefield 2009). Knowles argues that Kennedy's jurisprudence is 'modestly libertarian.' I conclude that this argument, in the limited ways Knowles makes it—with respect to free speech, equal protection, and individual dignity—is probably sound. Still, this is a small discovery considering the broad swath of Supreme Court jurisprudence. Moreover, it says little about whether Justice Kennedy is faithful to the Constitution, which is a stronger measure of libertarianism.

Download the article here. Read my mostly positive review of Knowles's book here.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Reason.tv: John J. Miller on The First Assassin

Damon Root is a senior editor at Reason and the author of A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution (Potomac Books).

PoliticsSupreme CourtConstitution
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (7)

Latest

House Republicans Just Voted To Give Even More Tariff Power Away to Trump

Jack Nicastro | 9.17.2025 4:00 PM

Jonathan Haidt: Kids Should Put Down the Phones and Take More Risks

John Stossel | 9.17.2025 2:40 PM

Trump's $15 Billion Lawsuit Against The New York Times Is His Craziest One Yet

Joe Lancaster | 9.17.2025 2:25 PM

'The Free Market Is Handling It Just Fine': How Left and Right Responded to Charlie Kirk's Murder

Robby Soave | 9.17.2025 12:45 PM

Parents Still Lose Kids to Discredited 'Shaken Baby' Claims

Lenore Skenazy | 9.17.2025 12:25 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300