Litigation

Interest Groups Divided on Kagan Pick

By Peter Hardin

Conservative groups wasted no time in voicing criticism of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, President Obama’s second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet it was hard to tell the extent to which they will fight her nomination.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, blasted the nomination as “irresponsible” and added, according to The Blog of Legal Times, “Ms. Kagan is a liberal activist and political operative with no experience as judge.”

“Obama wants to pack the court with reliable liberal votes to rubber-stamp an agenda that he knows the American people would not accept,” said Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network, who was quoted in a New York Times article.  “What better way than to appoint a loyalist from his own Department of Justice with a thin public record to advance his leftist legacy through the court.”

“In her disdain for the military, Elena Kagan considers her own views and opinions as more important than obeying the law and equipping the country with the best fighting force in the world,” said Penny Nancy of Concerned Women for America. “We need justices who put national security over the feelings or demands of special interest groups.”

For several liberal groups, Kagan was not their first choice, but they apparently will support her, a Reuters article suggested.

Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice was enthusiastic, saying, “Along with her sterling academic and professional qualifications, [Kagan] will bring to the Court a respect for core constitutional values and a willingness to stand up for the rights of ordinary Americans. Her appointment also represents an historic step forward as women continue to take their rightful place on the highest court in the land.”

Michael B. Keegan of People For the American Way called Kagan “a bright and clearly qualified nominee. I look forward to the confirmation process and learning more about the judicial philosophy she’ll bring to the high court.”

Terry O’Neill of the National Organization for Women applauded the nomination, saying Obama “apparently agrees that it is about time for women to make up a critical mass on the Supreme Court” and calling Kagan “eminently qualified.”

“We applaud her groundbreaking career history as the first female dean of Harvard Law School and first woman to serve as U.S. Solicitor General,” said Nancy Northup of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “However, her public record reveals very little about her judicial philosophy or her views on the constitutional protections” in Roe v. Wade.

A  list of interest groups and politicians reacting to Kagan’s nomination was available from SCOTUSblog. You can learn more by visiting Justice at Stake?s ?Replacing Justice Stevens? page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 10, 2010 (boomark / email).