WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy was cited Sunday as the probable pivoting point for decisions on key issues, including abortion.
The court, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, is slated to decide on issues including abortion, school integration and environmental policy by early summer, and Kennedy appears to have taken on the role of the court's center formerly held by retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Kennedy's vote is expected to be the decisive opinion for the nearly evenly divided court on the constitutionality of the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.
The Times said the other justices on the court appeared to make their voting intentions clear during Nov. 8 arguments on two cases against the act, but Kennedy's intentions remain in question.
The justice is also expected to be the swing vote in a case brought against the Bush administration because of its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide in automobile emissions, the court's first case dealing with global warming.
