Justice Kennedy Disqualifies Self on Counsels Law

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has disqualified himself from participating in the Supreme Court’s examination of a federal law authorizing independent counsels to investigate alleged wrongdoing by government officials, a court spokeswoman said today.

Spokeswoman Toni House said Kennedy gave no explanation of his decision not to take part in the court’s ruling expected by July on the constitutionality of the special prosecutor law.

There was speculation that Kennedy may have been concerned about old ties to President Reagan and his aides, including former assistant Michael K. Deaver, who have been targets of independent counsel investigations.

Kennedy did some work for Reagan when he was governor of California. At the time, Kennedy was a lawyer in Sacramento, later to be named a federal appeals court judge there.

4-4 Tie Possible

The absence from the case of Kennedy, who joined the court Feb. 18, creates the possibility of a 4-4 tie.

A deadlock in the independent counsel case would have the effect of upholding a ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here, which last month struck down the special prosecutor law.

Tie votes by the high court normally do not create a national precedent. But in the independent counsel’s case, it would presumably have the effect of nullifying the law.

The Circuit Court of Appeals here ruled that the Watergate-era statute is unconstitutional because it gives presidential appointment power to the federal courts. The law authorizes a federal court to appoint a special prosecutor when the attorney general recommends an independent investigation of a high-ranking official accused of a crime.