Opponents say Elena Kagan has no judicial experience and holds views outside of the mainstream.
Conservative leaders are decrying President Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan currently serves as solicitor general.
Among the objections, are her lack of judicial experience, her stand on the military and no record of how she would rule in cases involving abortion.
Kagan has spent her legal career as dean of Harvard Law School and as a Washington insider, and has never litigated a case to verdict or judgement.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Kagan is a surprising choice since the president has emphasized the importance of understanding “how the world works and how ordinary people live.”
“Ms. Kagan has spent her entire professional career in Harvard Square, Hyde Park and the D.C. Beltway,” he said in a news release. “These are not places where one learns ‘how ordinary people live.’ Most Americans believe that prior judicial experience is a necessary credential for a Supreme Court justice.”
Focus on the Family Action Senior Vice President Tom Minnery said the nomination was a disappointment.
“Kagan’s nomination is a triumph for liberal ideology and judicial activism,” he said. “She has never been a judge, nor written a judicial opinion. In fact, she has very limited experience in the actual practice of law. Her resume reveals her to be an academic who has served liberal judges, liberal presidents and liberal universities. Her entire career has been lived in a narrow slice of the judicial spectrum.”
While at Harvard, Kagan vigorously worked to ban military recruiters from the campus, because she disagrees with the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.
As solicitor general, Kagan has refused to appeal a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a 1993 law that states homosexuals are ineligible for military service.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, called the nomination an affront to the U.S. military.
“It is unfortunate that President Barack Obama has chosen to replace the only military veteran on the Supreme Court,” she said, “with a nominee whose only significant record indicates deliberate hostility and opposition to laws protecting the culture and best interests of the American military.”
There is no record to indicate how Kagan would rule on abortion cases, but she has been quoted criticizing pregnancy resource centers and has condemned a 1991 Supreme Court ruling upholding federal regulations that restrict Title X funds from being given to groups that performed or promoted abortion.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, said it will be the Senate’s responsibility to find out exactly where Kagan stands on the abortion issue.
“Ms. Kagan’s publicly demonstrated prejudices do not lend themselves well to blind justice,” she said, “Susan B. Anthony and her early feminist compatriots fought for a human rights standard sustained only through blind justice – and they knew that one group is never served by undermining the rights of another. Women will never be served by ignoring the rights of unborn children.”
Recently, Kagan made her views on campaign finance law known when she argued as solicitor general that the federal government has the power to ban certain books and pamphlets during an election.
Chief Justice John Roberts responded to the argument, saying, “As a free-floating test for First Amendment coverage, that (proposition) is startling and dangerous.”
According to a release from the Family Research Council, Kagan has called for the Senate to use the Supreme Court confirmation hearings “to engage nominees in meaningful discussion of legal issues,” and that a nominee’s views on issues are fair game.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said the Senate should use Kagan’s own standards when evaluating her.
“During her confirmation hearings for solicitor general, Ms. Kagan found it difficult to be forthcoming with her answers,” he said. “That should not be permitted when she is considered for a permanent position on our nation’s highest court.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read Focus on the Family Action’s statement on the Kagan nomination.
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