Kagan, the solicitor general and former dean of the harvard law school, was cautious and measured in her opening remarks. The question no one asked at justice kagans confirmation. Ap when president obama nominated elena kagan to the supreme court two months ago, her confirmation. As kagan herself has suggested, confirmation hearings should serve as an opportunity to gain knowledge and promote public understanding of what the nominee believes the court should do and how she would affect its conduct. Today, i am announcing that the senate judiciary committee will hold the confirmation hearing on the nomination of solicitor general elena kagan to be associate justice on the united states supreme court beginning on june 28, so that the hearing may conclude before the july recess. Kagan hearings set american center for law and justice. We are all originalists now, sort of realclearpolitics. The kagan hearings day 1 by nathanael bennett 7657989000 7657989000 the confirmation hearings for elena kagans nomination to the supreme court of the united states began with opening statements from the senators on the senate judiciary committee, introductions of kagan by senators kerry and brown, and kagans own opening statement. Confirmation hearings on the nominations of thomas perrelli nominee to be associate attorney general of the united states and elena kagan nominee to be solicitor general of the united states. Confirmation hearings for the appointment of elena kagan. The judiciary committee reported the nomination to the senate for consideration on july 20, 2010. During her 2010 supreme court confirmation hearings, elena kagan, fresh off a stint as barack obama s solicitor general, created a minor stir in legal circles by stating, we are all. Will elena kagan be outed as a liar and a fraud, just like.
The senate confirmed the nomination on august 5, 2010. June 28, 2010 kagan s senate confirmation hearings begin. Solicitor general kagan and you can start the clock solicitor general. President obama introduces elena kagan as his choice for supreme court justice on may 10, 2010. Attorney general holder, he told her, just told me that he expects a big story coming out shortly about whether you are recused in health care litigation. Her confirmation hearings present an opportunity for ms. Chuck grassleys beginning judge brett kavanaughs confirmation hearing for the supreme court and the process for getting kavanaugh documents, but recent history shows they have nothing to complain about, because they approved the very same process for the most recent nominee from a democratic president.
Washington senate judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy dvt. Kagans confirmation hearings before the senate judiciary committee began on june 28. On june 15, 2010, katyal emailed kagan, whose confirmation hearing was still weeks away. Listed below are the dates of selected supreme court nominees hearings before the senate judiciary committee since 1971. Elena kagan confirmation hearing congressman frank lucas. Elena kagan confirmation hearings live coverage the. Inspired by her fathers work at the manhattan law firm kagan. If she is confirmed, solicitor general kagan will bring the. Pn67 elena kagan, of massachusetts, to be solicitor general of the united.
Taking a closer look at elena kagans description of. Dean elena kagan praises incominq harvard president drew gilpin faust. The judiciary committee hearing to consider the nomination was held from june 28 july 1, 2010. Kagan confirmation hearing, day 1, part 2 in the first day of hearings on the appointment of solicitor general elena kagan to the u.
It was almost a year ago, that i also participated in justice sonia sotomayors confirmation. That decision had already been overturned by the supreme court in june 2009, prior to sotomayors senate confirmation hearings. In this installment of originally speaking, experts will discuss how to approach general kagans confirmation hearing by considering the following questions and others. The failures of the confirmation process, carter urges, ulti. Archive video of supreme court nominee elena kagan s confirmation hearings before the senate judiciary committee. Senate by a 6337 vote on thursday confirmed elena kagan as the nations 112th supreme court justice and its fourthever female member. Presser, and i am the raoul berger professor of legal history at northwestern university school of law. The senate confirmed elena kagan to be an associate justice of the supreme court on august 5, 2010, by a vote of 6337. The vote capped off an extremely smooth confirmation process for the 50yearold kagan, whose nomination was. In 2010, at her own confirmation hearing, justice kagan employed her own pincer movements, executed with goodnatured selfawareness, to. Granted that not all subsequent confirmation hearings could, or even should, follow the pattern set by the bork. Circuit by president bill clinton in 1999, republicans on the senate judiciary committee refused to hold a hearing on her nomination, which lapsed when president george w. In regard to second amendment issues, senators should carefully consider whether elena kagan will be a supreme court justice like hugo black.
Kagan takes on gop critics at supreme court confirmation. Conflicting public images in the supreme court confirmation process pdf. She is the fourth woman to serve as a justice of the supreme court. Subsequent hearings have presented to the public a vapid and hollow charade, in which repetition of platitudes has replaced discussion of viewpoints and personal anecdotes have. As the daughter of an elementary school teacher and a housing attorney, she developed an interest in both academics and law at a very young age. School of law, hearings on the confirmation of solicitor general elena kagan as associate justice of the united states supreme court before the judiciary committee, united states senate july 1, 2010 my name is stephen b. As a member of the senate judiciary committee, i spent much of last week participating in the confirmation hearings of solicitor general elena kagan to be associate justice of the supreme court. On may 10, 2010, president barack obama announced his selection of elena kagan for. Democrats denounce kavanaugh process they approved for. More video coverage javascript is required to display the live video.
In other words, can the justice overcome a prejudiced background and professional record in order to become a justice who will fully protect constitutional rights. But there is one piece in particular that kagan wrote that may well stand out, and become central in her confirmation hearing. Supreme court nominee elena kagan faced her first day of confirmation hearings the senate, with praise and criticism falling generally along party lines. Elena kagan is an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. Yesterday, the senate judiciary committee began confirmation hearings for president obamas nominee for the supreme court of the united states. For example, from the initial posting on 3 may 2009 to 9 april 2010, my two essays on the nomination and confirmation of justice sotomayor had a total of 6392 requests. Kagans confirmation hearing before the senate judiciary committee began on june 28, 2010. Nominations united states senate committee on the judiciary. Because the democrats held the senate and kagan was nominated to replace a justice considered to be even more leftleaning, republicans did not feel compelled to unnecessarily waste their political capital. Kagan fears politicized confirmations are destroying. She was born in new york city, new york on april 28, 1960. Kagan to explain her thinking and address criticismsxix that this decision reflects the continued lack of sympathy toward second amendment rights that she demonstrated as a law clerk. Partisan divisions mark kagan hearing kickoff youtube.
Leahy responds to republican requests for more kagan. Susan collins, lindsey graham, judd gregg, richard lugar and olympia snowe. Supreme court seat vacated by the retirement of justice john. Questioning supreme court nominees about their views. Now lets consider sg nominee elena kagan s second explanation for refusing again, to borrow her 1995 phrasing to engage in meaningful discussion of legal issues and for instead. Republicans poised for a fight over elena kagan cbs news. Kagan herself was a victim of confirmation politicking. Will elena kagan be outed as a liar and a fraud, just like her former boss. June 29, 2010 the first africanamerican supreme court justice has played a prominent role in confirmation hearings for kagan, who served as his law clerk. Hearing united states congress, senate committee on the judiciary.
When available, links to full hearing transcripts are provided. Solicitor general elena kagan will be the center of washingtons attention this week at her confirmation hearings to become the 112th supreme court justice. Kagan confirmation hearing, day 1, part 1 in the first day of hearings on the appointment of solicitor general elena kagan to the u. At the end of the day, what the judge does is to apply the law, kagan said, echoing the response to the same question from kyl by justice sonia sotomayor during her confirmation hearing last. Kagan does not argue in favor of a return to the ugliness of the bork hearings. Sotomayor was confirmed by the senate on august 6, 2009. Confirmation hearings before the senate judiciary committee will begin june 28th for president obamas nominee to the supreme court, solicitor general elena kagan. Supreme court justice and is only the fourth woman to hold the position. On may 10, 2010, president obama nominated elena kagan to be an associate justice of the united states supreme court. W hen supreme court justice john paul stevens announced his retirement plans, farright organizations and their gop allies swung into. Kagan is the courts 112th justice and fourth female justice. The kagan hearings day 1 american center for law and.
At his confirmation hearings, justice alito said, quote, if you want to. Confirmation messes, old and new the confirmation mess. Addressing senators on the first day of her confirmation hearings, ms. In alabama, he had joined the ku klux klan, and was elected.
Senate democrats are planning to move forward with the hearings in time for a confirmation vote to occur before the august recess. The senate confirmed elena kagan to the supreme court by a vote of 6337 on thursday. Confirmation hearings on the nominations of thomas perrelli. Justice kagan s confirmation was largely uncontroversial. General kagan s senate judiciary committee hearing on her nomination will begin on june 28th, 2010. Law and politics in judicial confirmation hearings, yale law school. A look back at the confirmation of justice elena kagan. If kagan lied to the senate during her confirmation hearings, rather than being asked to recuse herself from litigation over the health care bill, should the members of the house be requesting that she be removed from the u. All democrats, except for ben nelson, voted for her, as did independents joe lieberman and bernie sanders, and five republicans. Elena kagan is the former solicitor general for president obama as well as the former dean of harvard law school, and is the presidents second.
This is a pathetically small response for approximately. Indeed, if she is confirmed, kagan will be the only justice on the court and the first since justice rehnquist with no prior experience as a judge. With the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee elena kagan set to begin, we turned to our regular high court analyst, marcia coyle of the national law journal, for some historical. She was nominated by president barack obama in may 2010, and confirmed. In it, she didnt talk about her views concerning roe v. She is president obamas nominee to take the seat of retiring justice john paul stevens. On may 10, 2010 president obama nominated solicitor general elena kagan to replace justice stevens as an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. Now in a speech earlier this year, justice sotomayor said this.
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