Elena Kagan: Associate Supreme Court Justice

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Surprise, Surprise!

On August 5th 2010 Elena Kagan was confirmed, and then on August 8th she was sworn in as the 112th Associate Supreme Court Justice in American History. The former Dean of Harvard Law School was easily confirmed by a 63-37 vote, which shutdown and possible resistance from Republicans. Elena Kagan was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the seat left vacant by former Associate Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and will begin her lifelong post immediately.



Can Kagan fill Stevens' Shoes?

John Paul Steven's served the U.S. Supreme Court for thirty-five years and along the way, influenced nearly every important judicial decision of modern time, effectively creating history. How a person fill shoes like that is uncertain and many wonder if Kagan is capable of the position. She is seen by some Democrats as being to far to the center, particularly , because of her opinion on the Second Amendment; yet, among the Republicans she is not considered a friend either. The Republicans feel she is anti-military and pro-gay rights because of the standard she set for Ivy League schools to forbid the armed forces from recruiting on school grounds because of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy.

I think she will act as a centrist voice on the court which will place her in a very unique position, a position similar to that of former Associate Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I am a huge Day O'Connor fan and I feel that because she was so in touch with citizen sentiment, and so centralized, she actually gave the people a voice on our nation's highest court. Now, Kagan may not play that position perfectly, and I believe no one will ever compare to Sandra Day O'Connor, but I believe her more moderate views (when compared to the liberal views of the judicial left) will place her as the pivot point in hotly divided Supreme Court decisions. America will just have to wait and see how Kagan plays out; nut one thing is for certain, America won't have to wait long.

Later,
Cody