. >> we will vote to confirm justiceennedy's successor this fall. robert: we'll get to that scene on capitol hill. what a great group. joan, you were there at the court. you saw his we. maybe this was in the works. joan: i knew he had been thinking about retirement and for more than a year. he is 81 and about to turn i july, but he has a powerful position and he liked it and took it very eriously his role even though he was modest. he liked deciding cases and obviously controlling it what we are livingnd. he comes out that wednesday morning, they announced this important labor law cases, tustices looked fairly relaxed, mar kennedy is there, but mrs. contendy has come often at the very end and the body language seemed at ease. maybe not. and he doesn't do anything. and it turns out that he then goes into a private conference with his fellow colleagues, this from other justices, and he tells them and we from the white house information that he then delivers his own letter personally to the president, not all retiring justices do that, they send a lett

justiceennedy thinks once it is in place, it is gng to sta and no going back. i think justice roberts would thinkou thery supports it. ast nothing like justice kennedy or sandra day o'connor was.rt ro they did overturn a cision? >> abud versus detroit. >> i thought you meant koramatzu. >> john robertsbe wiln the middle but what he does in the liberals it will have weighar t the right side than justice kennedy. on rowe i can see them chipping ay, imposing new regulations that would make it hardefor a women to exercise their right. robert: this week, cl, e democrats saw in the primaries, alexandria won a primary in new york. if you are senator bill re on of florida, you under pressure to maybe not move to the left. >> i thi chuck schumer is in a tenableosition and he is the democratic leader and they nee to show their base they are doing all they can. they are pretty limited what they can do. not show up? that would be very extreme,t at would that do to the moderate dem the other states? i think there is an argument you can make f the democrats to say, listen, we

let me read you from the opinion from justiceennedy, he said, the outcome ofesike this and other circumstances in the courts all in the context of recognizing these disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs and without subjecting gay persons to indignitie when seek goods and services in the open market. so you can see there from the language that justice kennedy wanted to toe this line from respecting the religious beliefs of this baker in particular, but also maintaining the dignities of these same sex couples. so a narrow ruling here, a 7-2 decision, 7-2, justice clarence thomas, though a conservative, he joined in the decision, but dissented in the reasoning here. so not quite the big religious liberty case that many had expected, but still a narrow ruling for this baker saying that he does not have to make this cake for the same sex couple. >> kate? >> jessica, thank you so much. let's talk more about this. cnn senior analyst mark preston and paul callan. give me your take. >> i was in the courtroom and when justice kennedy came in, he

. -- justiceennedy kennedy concludes his tenure on the court, we wish his thely much happiness in years stands ready to fill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on president trump's nominee to fill this vacancy. confirm justice kennedy's successor this fall. as in the case of justice gorsuch, senators will have the opportunity to meet with president trump's nominee, examine his or her qualifications, and debate the nomination. i have every confidence in chairman grassley's conduct of the upcoming confirmation process in the judiciary , and it is imperative that the president's nominee be considered fairly and not be subjected to personal attacks. that's four, president trump's judicial nominations have reflected a keen understanding of the vital role the judges play in our constitutional order. judges must interpret the law fairly and apply it evenhandedly. judicial decisions must not flow from judges personal butosophies or preferences, from an honest assessment of the words and actual meaning of the law. this bedrock principle is clearly defined in the president's e