Blog 4

President Obama is expected to make his announcement of a nominee to replace the retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens early next week. Others have reported that a decision will definitely be made no later than May 26, 2010. Most journalist are reporting a strong favor towards Solicitor General Elena Kagan, over the others that Obama has held private interviews with in the past few weeks. He has also conducted interviews with three federal appeals court judges — Diane Wood, 59; Merrick Garland, 57; and Sidney Thomas, 56, who are considered the other main contenders. Obama conducted interviews with ten potential nominees but these are the major candidates.
But what is President Obama basing his decision on? What criteria should the candidates meet? What issues are being discussed during these interviews? Obama said he would appoint a justice who “knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens,”
The editors of the New York Times asked a panel of professionals in late April “What should the president’s calculation be in balancing merit, diversity and political experience?” Glenn Harlan Reynolds is the Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee replied “The conventional wisdom is that Elena Kagan would be a smart choice, because her highly successful tenure as dean at Harvard Law demonstrates an ability to bring together people of varying ideologies, which bodes well for her ability to put together coalitions on the Supreme Court. Unlike some conventional wisdom, this is probably right.” Olati Johnson, an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School, adds “Sonia Sotomayor added ethnic diversity to the bench, but, even more, her background as a trial court judge. So this time — why not add someone with substantial experience in legislative or executive branch politics? Such a nominee might bring consensus-building and negotiation skills to the court. She might help the court be less “imperial” as many claim — instead advancing constitutional values but with proper respect and deference for the operation of political branches. A large portion of Supreme Court cases involve statutory interpretation, administrative law and separation of powers. Campaign finance and other political participation issues will likely continue to feature prominently in the years to come. A serious thinker, with substantial experience in our democratic institutions, could only enhance the court.”
As Solicitor General, Kagan “has exceptionally good preparation for a job as a justice,” said Lincoln Caplan, the author of “The Tenth Justice: The Solicitor General and the Rule of Law. “The S.G.’s office reads the Supreme Court, both its personnel and its opinions, as closely as anyone in the universe,” Mr. Caplan said. The office’s approach is, moreover, a practical one, aimed at capturing the votes of a majority of the nine justices. “The S.G. learns to count to five,” he said.
Although Kagan is not a shoo in, as some felt Sonia Sotomayor was, she seems poised to be an easy approval candidate for Obama to elect. As far as merit, she has no paper trail and exceedingly good training as Solicitor General. She was approved by Congress for her current position, so it seems likely that she will be approved again. There is more to nomination than merit though. Personal stance on a variety of issues is key to being placed on the Supreme Court. We will discuss the “hot button” topics concerning this nomination next.
Sources Cited:
roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/.../who-should-be-the-next-justice/
thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/.../obama-promises-no-litmus-test-for-supreme-court-nominee/
roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/supreme-court/
legaltimes.typepad.com/.../2010/.../obama-nears-decision-on-supreme-court-nominee.html