Litigation

Fuller Picture of Kagan Emerging?

By Peter Hardin

There is a some lifting of the fog on the “work and thinking” of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, given the public release of thousands of pages of  documents, a New York Times editorial suggests. Here is the editorial’s view:

“An initial perusal of thousands of pages of documents from her years in the Clinton White House show her to be an adept centrist ? much like her old boss ? who tried to remain thoughtful while shielding President Bill Clinton from ideological extremes.”

The newly released documents ought to tamp down Republican protests that she is a dangerous leftist, the editorial adds.

Given the release of the batch of documents Friday (see earlier Gavel Grab post), much of the latest news coverage surrounding Kagan’s nomination process focuses on them.

A New York Times headline emphasized how the documents showed her “broad view of religious freedom.” A Washington Post article said the papers “give the strongest evidence yet that Kagan would bring to the court far more experience than most recent justices in the political circus that often defines Washington.”

In Politico, an article similarly highlighted the political realm, saying the documents establish her “as a political creature highly attuned to the implications of presidential decisions on issues like abortion and gun control, as well as the potential fallout from controversies such as the 1995 government shutdown and Paula Jones? sexual harassment lawsuit.”

The Blog of Legal Times reported she helped build President Clinton’s attorney-client privilege defense in the Whitewater investigation. The papers also show her frustration  over her unsuccessful 1999 nomination to a federal appeals court, according to a CNN report.

According to an Associated Press article, her past work as U.S. solicitor general would require her to step aside, if confirmed, from hearing almost a dozen cases, including the federal government’s racketeering lawsuit against cigarette makers.

To find out more about Kagan and the nomination process, check out Gavel Grab or Justice at Stake?s ?Replacing Justice Stevens? page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on June 14, 2010 (boomark / email).