Litigation

More Senators Announce Votes on Kagan

By Peter Hardin

Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter said Elena Kagan “did just enough to win my vote” for confirmation to the Supreme Court.

But in a USA Today op-ed outlining his views, the Pennsylvanian also said Kagan continued a practice of Supreme Court nominees hedging their answers to senators. “But her non-answers were all the more frustrating, given her past writings that the hearings were vacuous and lacked substance,” he wrote.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said he will vote no on Kagan. ?I don?t believe that any nominee should be confirmed to the Supreme Court unless he or she has made clear that they will protect the fundamental rights written in our Constitution, and will not abuse judicial power to impose their own policy standards on the American people,” he was quoted by The Washington Independent as saying.

The Judiciary Committee, to which both senators belong, is expected to vote July 20 on Kagan’s nomination to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens, and to support her confirmation.

While her confirmation hearings, and her previously published criticism of such proceedings, have drawn extensive discussion, not much of it has come from current or former judges.

In an opinion blog of The Dallas Morning News, William McKenzie said he had talked with former Texas Chief Justice Tom Phillips:

“He agreed that the hearings had become a farce. He said they largely have become a way for interest groups to whip up on the judiciary and raise money for their causes.”

A subsequent editorial by the same newspaper was headlined, “Senate should confirm Kagan, then kill hearings.”

Justice at Stake covered the Kagan hearings on Twitter, and you can check out the Twitter reports by clicking on http://twitter.com/justicestake. You also can learn more about Kagan from Gavel Grab and from the JAS Replacing Justice Stevens page.

Full post as published by The Gavel on July 15, 2010 (boomark / email).