Friday, May 14, 2010

Your Take: Why Elena Kagan is a Good Choice for the Supreme Court

the Root.com
By: Charles J. Ogletree Jr.
Posted: May 12, 2010 at 5:42 PM
Former Harvard Law colleague Charles Ogletree Jr. offers a vigorous defense of the nominee.

I am writing to follow up on some of the concerns I am hearing about my colleague Elena Kagan's civil rights record and whether she would be a fit candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. While it is certainly up to the President to find the ideal person and to look at a number of factors in reaching a decision, I hear criticisms of Elena Kagan that are contrary to my knowledge of her during the last 25 years or so, and that do not adequately represent her record. I share this with you so that you'll have a more complete assessment of Elena Kagan's views on race and civil rights matters.
After graduating from Harvard Law School and clerking in the circuit court, Kagan ultimately clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. I don't think anyone can recall a negative word that Marshall ever said about Elena Kagan, and in fact, when he spoke about her, it was always in glowing terms. Elena taught at the University of Chicago before joining the Harvard Law School faculty. As a result of Kagan's tenacity, focus, and clarity, the university leadership ultimately appointed her as the first woman dean of Harvard Law School.

Full Story: http://www.theroot.com/views/your-take-why-elena-kagan-good-choice-supreme-court?page=0,0

No comments: