Legal Commentary

Sessions Responds to Kagan?s Marshall Memos

By Jonathan H. Adler

Jan Crawford reports that Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said some of the memos Elena Kagan wrote as a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall are ?troubling? and warrant greater scrutiny.  Also today, the Clinton Presidential Library has begun to release documents from Kagan?s time in the Clinton White House.  CNN reports here.

Meanwhile, Gallup finds that support for confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court trails that of prior nominees (other than Harriett Miers).  I am not quite sure what to make of these findings, but they are interesting.  Among the potential (non-mutually exclusive) explanations are a) her lack of prior judicial experience, b) her lack of a compelling personal story, c) the controversy over military recruitment at Harvard, d) the President?s declining popularity/approval ratings, e) lack of enthusiasm for her from the Left, f) concern that she would rubber stamp increasing federal power, g) displacement of nomination coverage by other events (e.g. the oil spill, etc.).

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on June 04, 2010 (boomark / email).