I try to keep my promises--earlier on this blog I posted a piece on Associate Justice John Paul Stevens' retirement from the United States Supreme Court. I promised to update you when President Obama picked a nominee to replace Justice Stevens. Well, just today, President Obama held a press conference to announce that Elena Kagan was his pick to succeed Justice Stevens. President Obama described Kagan as a "consensus builder." If the Kagan nomination is successful we shall see.
In my earlier post I suggested that President Obama should do two (2)things to refresh the Supreme Court. First, I suggested that President Obama should pick a moderate to liberal leaning candidate to balance the Supreme Court's seeming conservative to right movement. Second, I advocated for a selection that exhibited a measure of diversity--namely a candidate who wasn't a sitting federal appellate judge.
Elena Kagan is fifty (50) years young. So, based on the odds, she will likely shape the law for a generation, assuming she enjoys good health. Kagan is preeminently qualified. Kagan is currently the Solicitor General of the United States. She is the former dean of the Harvard Law School. In a past life, she served as associate White House counsel during the Clinton Administration.
Elena Kagan would be the third woman to sit on the current Supreme Court bench--joining Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. Overall, Kagan would be the fourth woman to serve, if confirmed, over the course of the Surpeme Court's history.
Personally, I think Elena Kagan is a wonderful choice. What do you think? Did President Obama get this selection right?
