Block, SkipCaptcha, Automoderated users, edit
2,414
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 25:
Line 25: − + Line 33:
Line 33: + + + + + + + + + +
Confirmation
==Nomination to the Supreme Court==
==Nomination to the Supreme Court==
On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Kagan to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice [[John Paul Stevens]]. The 50 year old (in 2010) Kagan has years of experience in the legal field but has never served on the judicial bench. Kagan is the third woman currently seated on the court, and her confirmation marks the the first time in [[American history]] that the Supreme Court has no [[Protestant]] members, as the Jewish Kagan would replace the sole [[Protestant]], Stevens. <ref>ABC news, ''The Conversation: Elena Kagan Nominated to Supreme Court'', May 10, 2010</ref> Due to her young age, Kagan could potentially serve decades on the Court.
On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Kagan to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice [[John Paul Stevens]]. The 50 year old (in 2010) Kagan has years of experience in the legal field but has never served on the judicial bench. Kagan is the third woman currently seated on the court, and her confirmation marks the the first time in [[American history]] that the Supreme Court has no [[Protestant]] members, as the Jewish Kagan would replace the sole [[Protestant]], Stevens. <ref>ABC news, ''The Conversation: Elena Kagan Nominated to Supreme Court'', May 10, 2010</ref> Due to her young age, Kagan could potentially serve decades on the Court.<ref>God allowing.</ref>
Documents from Kagan's service in the Clinton White House have served to reinforce the conception that Kagan is "a politically savvy, sometimes hard-edged strategist whose views of the Constitution are at odds with those of conservatives", and that she is possessed with "a sharp intellect and somewhat territorial; highly opinionated but eager to facilitate consensus."
Documents from Kagan's service in the Clinton White House have served to reinforce the conception that Kagan is "a politically savvy, sometimes hard-edged strategist whose views of the Constitution are at odds with those of conservatives", and that she is possessed with "a sharp intellect and somewhat territorial; highly opinionated but eager to facilitate consensus."
===Preparation by Bill Clinton===
===Preparation by Bill Clinton===
As a result of a request by senators who will vote on her nomination, 90,000 pages of records from the Clinton White House were released which reveal that Kagan played a role in crafting former [[President Bill Clinton]]’s policies on abortion, assisted suicide, religious freedom, gun control, welfare reform and tobacco. In addition, they also show that Kagan was part of Clinton's small army of lawyers which unsuccessfully sought to postpone Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against him. As a result of her work, Clinton sought to gain her a seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, often a steppingstone to the Supreme Court, an appointment which the [[Republican]]-controlled Senate opposed. In response to Kagan's note of thanks, the former President stated, "I was honored to nominate you - you will be a wonderful judge if we can get you through - and young enough to have a profound impact."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/12/documents-show-kagan-a-political-pragmatist/print/ ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', [[Associated Press]] June 12, 2010</ref>
As a result of a request by senators who will vote on her nomination, 90,000 pages of records from the Clinton White House were released which reveal that Kagan played a role in crafting former [[President Bill Clinton]]’s policies on abortion, assisted suicide, religious freedom, gun control, welfare reform and tobacco. In addition, they also show that Kagan was part of Clinton's small army of lawyers which unsuccessfully sought to postpone Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against him. As a result of her work, Clinton sought to gain her a seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, often a steppingstone to the Supreme Court, an appointment which the [[Republican]]-controlled Senate opposed. In response to Kagan's note of thanks, the former President stated, "I was honored to nominate you - you will be a wonderful judge if we can get you through - and young enough to have a profound impact."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/12/documents-show-kagan-a-political-pragmatist/print/ ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', [[Associated Press]] June 12, 2010</ref>
===Confirmation===
On August 5, 2010, by a vote of 63-37 the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the Supreme Court's 112th justice and fourth woman, replacing retired Justice John Paul Stevens. Five Republicans and all but one Democrat voted for Kagan, along with the Senate's two independents. In a ritual reserved for the most historic votes and that has rarely been practiced, the senators sat at their desks and stood to cast their votes with "ayes" and "nays."
Kagan is the first Supreme Court justice in nearly 40 years with no experience as a judge, and after her swearing-in on August 7 it marks the first time in history in which the nine-member court has had three women serving together, joining Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's first nominee.
Due to her liberal ideology Republicans overall opposed Kagan. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, stated that Kagan,
{{cquote|is truly a person of the political left - now they call themselves progressives - one who has a history of working to advance the values of the left wing of the Democratic Party, and whose philosophy of judging allows a judge to utilize the power of their office to advance their vision for what America should be.}}
Kagan was also criticized for revealing little about what kind of justice she would be in weeks of private meetings with individual senators and many days of testimony before the Senate Judiciary panel, although she had penned a law review article criticizing Supreme Court nominees for obfuscating their views before the Senate. Kagan avoided questions about her personal beliefs on a variety of critical issues and repeatedly refused to give her opinion on Supreme Court rulings. <ref>CBS news, ''Elena Kagan Confirmed as Supreme Court Justice'', Aug. 5, 2010</ref>
==Activity and ideology==
==Activity and ideology==