Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

By Jesse J. Holland, Associated Press Writer

      WASHINGTON (AP) - A key Senate Democrat predicted a vote by
early August to confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan as the next
Supreme Court justice, even as skeptical Republicans warned against
a rush to judgment.

      Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont called
Kagan, 50, a "superbly qualified candidate" who would
"obviously" be confirmed this summer before the chamber leaves
for a monthlong break. His panel will hold Kagan's confirmation
hearings.

      Republican leaders made it clear, however, that they're in no
hurry to vote on Kagan, whom some of them criticized as
insufficiently experienced to serve on the high court.


      "Fulfilling our duty to advise and consent on a nomination to
this office requires a thorough process, not a rush to judgment,"
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said in a
statement. He noted Kagan's "brief litigation experience," while
promising that his party would treat her fairly.

      Kagan, the former Harvard Law School dean nominated by President
Barack Obama to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, has
never been a judge. While Democrats touted that background
"outside the judicial monastery" as a plus that would bring a
diversity of perspective to the Supreme Court, Republicans
questioned whether she had the skills necessary to be a justice.

      "Ms. Kagan's lack of judicial experience and short time as
solicitor general, arguing just six cases before the Court, is
troubling," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the top Judiciary
Committee Republican.


      Still, barring extraordinary circumstances, Kagan should win
Senate confirmation on the strength of Democrats' numerical
advantage. Democrats control the chamber with 59 votes, one short
of what they would need to forestall the possibility of a partisan
filibuster.


      Leahy noted that both Chief Justice John Roberts and the newest
justice, Sonia Sotomayor, were confirmed swiftly in time for the
start of a new court term. He said the same should be done for
Kagan.

      "The decisions made at the nation's highest court affect the
daily lives of all Americans," Leahy said. "Our constituents
deserve a civil and thoughtful debate on this nomination, followed
by an up-or-down vote."

      To stop her from becoming the nation's 112th justice, Democrats
would have to abandon Obama and his second high court pick or
almost all of the GOP senators would have to agree to block a vote
on the nomination - more than a year after seven of them voted for
Kagan to become the solicitor general.

      It's unlikely that Republicans will unite to try to block a vote
to confirm her. But some of her former backers held out the
possibility that they might yet turn against her, saying their
previous support wouldn't necessarily translate into votes to
confirm her as a justice.

      "As I made clear when I supported her confirmation as solicitor
general, a temporary political appointment is far different than a
lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court," said Sen. Jon Kyl of
Arizona, the No. 2 Republican.

      Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a Judiciary member and another past
backer, said Kagan's "previous confirmation, and my support for
her in that position, do not by themselves establish either her
qualifications for the Supreme Court or my obligation to support
her." Hatch said he was keeping an open mind.

      Manuel Miranda, chairman of the conservative Third Branch
Conference, said Kagan "shouldn't be filibustered, she won't be
filibustered." He said the real question is how much time and
effort Republicans put into scrutinizing her.

      Obama announced Kagan as his second pick to the nation's highest
court on Monday. If confirmed, she would join Justices Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Sotomayor in bringing the number of women on the
Supreme Court to three, the highest in the court's history.

      Women already represent 31 percent of all sitting justices on
state Supreme Courts, according to the National Center for State
Courts.

      Kagan's nomination "represents a historic step forward as women
continue to take their rightful place on the highest court in the
land," said Nan Aron, leader of the liberal Alliance for Justice.

      Kagan will immediately begin courting the votes she needs by
calling on members of the Senate, beginning this week.

      Not all Democrat-affiliated groups are happy with Obama's
choice. Some are concerned that replacing Stevens - the leader of
the court's liberal bloc - with a moderate like Kagan would have
the net effect of making the court more conservative.


      "If the president's nomination of Elena Kagan is successful,
the result will move the Supreme Court to the right. Progressives
should fight the Kagan nomination," said Norman Solomon,
progressive activist and author of "War Made Easy: How Presidents
and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death."


      The solicitor general - known informally as the "tenth
justice" - represents the United States, including defending acts
of Congress, at the Supreme Court and deciding when to appeal lower
court decisions.

      Beyond Kagan's work as solicitor general and her time as dean of
Harvard Law School, there's not much material opponents can use to
attempt to forestall her confirmation.

Gallery

Elena Kagan picked for Supreme Court

Crime, Law and Justice

Courts

Barring extraordinary circumstances, Solicitor
General Elena Kagan should win confirmation to the Supreme Court on
the strength of Democrats' numerical advantage in the Senate.

Kagan should have quick path to Supreme Court

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox