Elena Kagan, Essay Example

Kagan was elected to the US Supreme Court on June 29, 2010.  As a new justice she has been accused by the Republicans as being a liberal judicial activist; which Kagan hotly denied.  Republicans claimed that Kagan was more interested in politics than  focusing upon legal precedents.  These accusations were attributed partly to her involvement in the criticism of the Israeli Supreme Court president.  [Ahran Barak].

Kagan has repeatedly  stated that she does not hide her  Jewish ethnicity and that she maintains an active interest in Israel and the politics of that  country.  Kagan is by no means the first Supreme Court judge to have raised controversy upon the appointment.  In general terms, the transition went ahead fairly smoothly.  Recent events like the BP oil spill and the Afghanistan war have overshadowed issues relative to a political views and that of Israel.

Kagan has an impressive background in law being a former dean of the Harvard Law school.  She now becomes President, Obama’s new Solicitor General.  Kagan has been a colourful and interesting character putting forward candidates opinions on a wide range of controversial subject matter.  The appointment is part of Obama’s plans to have a supreme court that has more  knowledge of international law.  Kagan has been a professional distinction for a number of years, with posts at the University of Chicago, Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law school.  She has a keen eye on international affairs and is not afraid of confronting controversial issues.

One of the key issues of concern about Kagan relates to the lack of a track record in clear statements of judgments and as such questions, what a true legal philosophies and motives all.  Nevertheless, your bomber administration seems to have confidence in the appointment.  There have also been assertions that Kagan is a lesbian.  And as such, she would be the first gay judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court.  The Obama  administration has flatly denied this and walked away from addressing this assertion with the press. One cannot fault Kagan is being and leading academic in the field of law.

President  Obama praised Kagan has been one of the foremost legal minds in the USA Today and 50 years of age, one of the youngest judges to be appointed to the Supreme Court.  In fact, she becomes only the fourth female  judge to be elected in the history of the Supreme Court.  The relationship between Kagan  and Pres. Obama goes back to the University of Chicago, where they both taught at the University law school in the 1990s.  President Obama introduced her as a friend and stated ” Elena is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost legal minds. She’s an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law. She is a former White House aide, with a life- long commitment to public service and a firm grasp of the nexus and boundaries between our three branches of government,” Obama said.”  (Press).

Although the congress has since softened the stance on Kagan’s appointment there still remains some concern over her lack of experience in the role – ” If confirmed, she would be the first Justice in nearly 40 years who has no experience on the bench ”  (Newton-Small). In addition the National Rifle Association are concerned about the appointment owing to her previous stance on gun controls. ” As a clerk for Marshall, Kagan wrote that she was “not sympathetic” to a constitutional challenge of Washington, D.C’s gun-control law, which the court overturned in 2008 in D.C. v. Heller ”  (Press)

Works Cited

Newton-Small, Jay. Supreme Court Hearings:. 28 6 2010. 5 7 2010 <http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2000023,00.html>.

Press, Associated. Obama picks Elena Kagan for Supreme Court. 10 5 2010. 5 7 2010 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36967616/>.