'Kennedy's Court': Meet 81-year-old Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy, who just announced his retirement

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, the high court's longest serving current member.

Dennis Cook (Associated Press)

Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court on Wednesday after serving on the bench for 30 years.

"It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court," Kennedy wrote in a statement announcing his retirement.

The 81-year-old Justice was appointed to the nation's highest court in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan.

A conservative who leaned moderate in cases that concern individual freedoms, Kennedy often provided the deciding fifth vote on cases without a clear majority. As someone who frequently voted to support women's and LGBT rights, Kennedy's absence could definitively swing the Supreme Court to the right.

Here is a look at the Supreme Court justice who often shifted the balance on some of the court's most controversial cases — so much so that many have even called it "Kennedy's Court."

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