President Obama announced Elena Kagan as his nominee to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday morning, calling her a “trailblazer,” among other things.
The president is supposed to make sure the Supreme Court remains steady and insulated from the ebb and flow of American politics, but we are not convinced Kagan is the right woman for the job.
Kagan worked as a law professor at the University of Chicago, was the first woman to be the dean of the Harvard Law School and has served as Solicitor General since 2009, yet we cannot help but point out that she has no experience as a judge, federal or otherwise.
Sure, Earl Warren never spent a day in a robe until he became chief justice. And sure, he was fundamental in the outcomes of landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda v. Arizona, but he shifted the court’s politics so much that former president Dwight Eisenhower said nominating him was the “biggest damned-fool mistake I ever made.”
At 50 years old, Kagan would be the youngest person on the Supreme Court, and her tenure could easily outlast those of the other justices. The last thing the court needs is an unknown quantity shaking up the system.
Confirming Kagan could be the best, worst or most unmemorable thing the Senate ever votes on, and it is impossible to know looking at her record. Just cross your fingers that Obama doesn’t have to borrow that quote from Eisenhower.
