Elena Kagan

Justice Kagan style

Sheila Liaugminas | 10 August 2010

Now that Elena Kagan has been sworn in as the newest Supreme Court justice, some of the media are musing over what we might expect over the next session or so. Interesting, how they’re framing the issues…

Kagan’s quagmire

Sheila Liaugminas | 14 July 2010

There’s no question Elena Kagan will be confirmed by the Senate to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. But there are plenty of questions about her political ideology and its likely influence on the Court, questions she either dodged artfully, or ones that weren’t asked at all during that show they called a ‘hearing’…

Kagan finessed the military issue

Sheila Liaugminas | 06 July 2010

By last week’s end, everyone knew Elena Kagan charmed most of our elected representatives involved in the Senate confirmation hearings and deftly maneuvered her way past any confrontations with her own assessment of those hearings as vapid and hollow, while she danced past any interrogations into her radical support for partial-birth abortion in the Clinton adminstration.

What the Senate heard from Kagan

Sheila Liaugminas | 01 July 2010

Why are these called “hearings”, given how little substance and inquiry they’ve had for decades….in the words of the nominee herself, once upon a more candid time.

Kagan’s politics

Sheila Liaugminas | 30 June 2010

The Supreme Court nominee has trained well for the very confirmation hearing process she once sharply and publicly criticized. So now she’s being as politically correct as she needs to be, while denying she’ll be political at all on the court. What’s wrong with this picture?

Kagan’s confirmation hearings

Sheila Liaugminas | 28 June 2010

Add this to the spectator sports going on right now in exciting arenas….World Cup. Wimbledon. Prelude to the Tour de France. Buildup to the MLB All-Star Break. US Open to the British Open. And now, finally, the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan begin. Okay, most people don’t care. But we journalists must, and must understand the players and the stakes.

Sex, softball and the Supreme Court

Sheila Liaugminas | 15 May 2010

This is not helping the media image of ridiculous gossip-mongers, nor is it serving the causes of sensibility, human dignity……or girls’ softball.

What Kagan did write

Sheila Liaugminas | 14 May 2010

Most jurists leave a paper trail for interrogators to examine in the confirmation process when judges are nominated for advancement. We found out quickly this week that Elaine Kagan, nominated for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, had neither a judicial background nor a paper ‘trail’. But what little she wrote does provide a paperweight for senators preparing for the confirmation hearings.

Judging from the spin

Sheila Liaugminas | 12 May 2010

I’ve been a Court watcher for years. I’ve done a lot of legal coverage, and have been tempted to go for a law degree. An opening on the Supreme Court always provides compelling opportunities to deliberate over the Constitution and original intent. If only politicians and media seized them…

Until Kagan is confirmed

Sheila Liaugminas | 12 May 2010

Senators will soon be involved in the confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan, President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. It’s a lifetime appointment. Time to ask some good questions...