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May 10, 2010

Seen as Rising Star, Kagan Has Limited Paper Trail

Nina Totenberg, NPR


AP Photo

Widely admired for her intellectual acumen and administrative ability as dean at Harvard Law School, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan came to her current job of U.S. solicitor general with one gaping void: She had never argued a case in the Supreme Court — or any other court, for that matter.

At her confirmation hearing, she told skeptical senators that she was not worried, that she was bringing with her "a lifetime of learning and study" in the law — as a teacher and private practitioner, and as a lawyer for the Clinton administration. But not all senators were convinced. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) both said they wouldn't send someone who needed surgery to a doctor who had never operated.

 

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Related Topics: Elena Kagan, Supreme Court

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