Judging Justices

Weekend Assignment #320: The SCOTUS Choice


Recently, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he will retire, at the end of his term, later this year, leaving the position open to be filled by President Obama. As you know, Obama has chosen Elena Kagen as his nominee. I would like to hear your thoughts about this. Good choice? Bad choice? Indifferent? Who would you like to see appointed to the high court? Are you happy with the justices currently serving, or do you believe they leave something to be desired? Tell me what you think!

This one isn’t easy. Outside of that Wikipedia link, I haven’t done my homework on Elena Kagan.

The embarrassing truth is that somewhere along the way, when the Health Care debate got really ugly, I stopped watching the news out of Washington.

My politics are rather mixed. I like my judges liberal, my executives conservative and my legislature to be a mixed bag. I have long thought the Supreme Court in need of a shift although interestingly, Wikipedia says that the liberals think she is too conservative and might shift the balance in the other direction.

I am not interested in the conversations about her sexuality. However, I am rather offended that there is so much of it. Apparently, the facts that she never married and she doesn’t look like Madame Sarkozy are a problem for some people.

The interesting question is whether prior experience as a judge is necessary to be a successful justice. Kagan has experience as a law clerk, and I understand a law clerk’s job is to do much of the research to help a judge come to a conclusion. Neither has she tried a case before the Supreme Court. Is that an issue. I don’t have an answer. But I hope those are the questions that are asked during the confirmation process. I hope.