WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy hated the title of "swing justice" because he considered it a demeaning term more suitable for politics than the majesty of the law.

But in choosing to announce his retirement Wednesday, the conservative who was the crucial vote in so many of the court's biggest cases made a political choice of his own, allowing President Donald Trump to pick his successor and, more than likely, ensure conservative control of the court.

Kennedy, 81, spent more than a decade as the court's most frequent tie-breaker, taking on that role after Justice Sandra...