Supreme Court Candidates, 2010

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the only decorated veteran on the U.S. Supreme Court, has announced his resignation and thereby created an election year vacancy.

Here are leading contenders to be nominated to fill his seat, with an analysis of each.

Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan is currently Solicitor General of the United States, confirmed in 2009 by a vote of 61-31. She was born in 1960.

In an April 11 column for the New Ledger, Ben Domenech stated that Elena Kagan would be the "first openly gay justice."

Elena Kagan served as Dean of Harvard Law School, where she supported a censorship and banning of participation by the United States Armed Forces in recruitment that is made available to hundreds of other employers. She signed onto a law brief in 2004 urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Solomon Amendment, which placed as a condition of receipt of federal funds by institutions (including Harvard Law School) that they not discriminate against recruitment by the U.S. Armed Forces. Rumsfeld v. FAIR, Docket No. 04-1152, 2004 U.S. Briefs 1152. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected her argument by a vote of 8-0. But Harvard University continues to ban ROTC to this day.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, the leader of the Susan B. Anthony List, explained that:

“

In the past Kagan has been a strong supporter of the pro-abortion agenda. She has vigorously opposed the de-funding of taxpayer-funded clinics which promote abortions, despite the fact that a majority of Americans do not want their tax dollars to fund abortion providers.

”

Elena Kagan testified, at her confirmation hearing for the position of Solicitor General, in favor of the use of foreign law to interpret the U.S. Constitution.

Elena Kagan's "senior thesis at Princeton raises some eyebrows, in that it apparently laments the non-existence of a viable socialist movement in the U.S."

Elena Kagan's first oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court was defending the federal campaign finance law in Citizens United v. FEC. The Court rejected her argument and invalidated the law as unconstitutional.

Kagan has extensive ties to Goldman-Sachs, a financial institution under federal investigation.

Diane Wood

Diane Wood is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Born in 1950, she is a former clerk of Justice Harry Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade.

In a decision reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court, Diane Wood held that activities protesting abortion clinics constituted illegal racketeering, subjecting pro-lifers to the very harsh penalties designed to combat organized crime. National Organization for Women v. Scheidler, 267 F.3d 687 (7th Cir. 2001), rev'd, 537 U.S. 393 (2003). She is probably the candidate most favored by pro-abortion groups.

Diane Wood ruled against the Second Amendment, to the consternation of gun rights advocates, in Justice v. Town of Cicero, 577 F.3d 768 (7th Cir., Aug. 14, 2009):

Judge Wood upheld the handgun registration ordinance of Cicero, Illinois. The opinion accurately explained that under the then-current law of the Circuit, the Second Amendment was not incorporated in the Fourteenth. Surprisingly, Judge Wood then asserted that even if the Second Amendment were incorporated, the registration requirement is constitutional. ... Accordingly, it is plausible to infer from her unreasoned opinion a disregard for Second Amendment rights.

Diane Wood "is clearly ready to invent a constitutional right to same-sex marriage."

Additional Abortion Record

In 2002, in a dissent, Diane Wood "objected to an Indiana law that effectively required women to make an extra visit to a hospital or clinic for information before getting an abortion."

In a 1993 law review article, Judge Wood praised Justice Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade, as follows:

“

Justice Blackmun articulated in Roe ...the important insight that a core set of individual rights exists that neither the states nor the federal government may trample.

”

Merrick Garland

Merrick Garland is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He did a Supreme Court clerkship with the liberal Justice William Brennan. He was born in 1952.

Conservative Senator Trent Lott led a floor fight to oppose Garland's nomination to the D.C. Circuit in 1997, and 23 senators voted against his confirmation.

Merrick Garland has reportedly ruled or made statements against Second Amendment rights.

Merrick Garland was interviewed by President Obama for the position in late April.

Sidney Thomas

Sidney Thomas is a judge on the Ninth Circuit. His lives in Montana, a state that President Obama won in 2008 and would like to carry again in 2012. Judge Thomas was born in 1953.

Sidney Thomas served as an adjunct law professor for more than a decade.

President Obama interviewed him for the position on April 29, 2010.

External links

• Slate short list
• it won't be Hillary