Elena Kagan

By U.S. Senator Carl Levin
Thursday, August 5, 2010

I was delighted to cast my vote this afternoon in favor of the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court.

At a time when the discussion of our legal system is so often dominated by ideological labels, Elena Kagan will bring years of practical, pragmatic experience to our highest court. She is extraordinarily well qualified and will bring a valuable new perspective to the court.

Elena Kagan was the first woman to be nominated by a President and confirmed by the Senate to serve as Solicitor General of the United States. In this position, in which she represents the interests of the United States government before the Supreme Court, she has received numerous accolades from a broad range of observers.

Professor Michael McConnell, Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School and former Circuit Court Judge nominated by George W. Bush, in urging her confirmation, said, "Publicly and privately, in her scholarly work and in her arguments on behalf of the United States, Elena Kagan has demonstrated a fidelity to legal principle even when it means crossing her political and ideological allies."

Ten former Solicitors General representing both parties praised her "breadth of experience and a history of great accomplishment in the law. Her most recent experience as Solicitor General will serve her well as she wrestles with the difficult questions that come before the Court."

In 2003, Elena Kagan was named dean of the Harvard Law School, the first woman to hold that title. Throughout her tenure at Harvard, she showed a remarkable knack for reaching out to people across the ideological spectrum. As Harvard Law School's dean, she broadened the school's diversity of legal points of view, strengthened the academic program and improved the quality of life for students and faculty.

Justice Kagan will bring a different perspective to the Court, and we should welcome that. Justice Antonin Scalia put it this way: "Currently, there is nobody on the court who has not served as a judge -- indeed, as a federal judge -- all nine of us. I am happy to see that this latest nominee is not a federal judge -- and not a judge at all."

Elena Kagan's sense of fairness, her keen intellect and her commitment to the rule of law ensure that she will be an outstanding justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Best wishes,
Carl Levin