After each Supreme Court appointment in recent years, the arguments before the justices have gotten more energetic and forceful. Now, the two newest justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, are changing that dynamic even further — and offering a glimpse of how they could reshape the court’s liberal wing. (more)
In the private sector, the capstone of your career is marked with a laudatory going-away party, perhaps a gold watch or other recognition of your years of service, and your retirement — it’s a clean break. The company goes on with its business and you go on with your life. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Thursday that Americans should be tolerant of plans to build an Islamic center and mosque near the site of the World Trade Center in New York. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Supreme Court justices enter the House of Representatives in their black robes for the president’s next State of the Union address, Samuel Alito does not plan to be among them. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court opened its new term with Justice Elena Kagan on the bench. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — First Amendment cases top the Supreme Court’s docket as it begins a new term with a new justice and three women on the bench for the first time. (more)
WASHINGTON — Each year, 36 young lawyers obtain the most coveted credential in American law: a Supreme Court clerkship. Clerking for a justice is a glittering capstone on a résumé that almost always includes outstanding grades at a top law school, service on a law review and a prestigious clerkship with a federal appeals court judge. (more)
Did anyone in Washington (or anywhere outside the beltway for that matter) notice that the United States Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as an Associate Justice for the United States Supreme Court last week? Not to mistrust the intelligence of the American citizenry, but this is, as Anchorman Ron Burgundy would say “kind of a big deal.” (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elena Kagan was sworn in Saturday as the 112th justice and fourth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — At least once a term for 13 years, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recalled, some lawyer arguing before the Supreme Court would mistake her for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, or vice versa. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Her confirmation assured, Elena Kagan is on the brink of becoming the fourth woman ever to serve as a Supreme Court justice. (more)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Senator Susan Collins said Friday that she would vote to confirm Elena Kagan as a Supreme Court justice, breaking with her party to back President Barack Obama’s nominee. (more)
What started out Wednesday as a discussion among experts about the Supreme Court’s recent rulings quickly turned into a debate about whether the current justices on the high court displayed activist tendencies or practiced judicial restraint. (more)
The Senate Judiciary Committee just completed its second day of hearings on the nomination of Elena Kagan to replace Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court. So far, Ms. Kagan has shifted from posing as a clone of John Roberts to evading or obfuscating in order to avoid making any statement that could cost her Senate votes. (more)
On the eve of Elena Kagan’s Senate confirmation hearings, her record on race in the Clinton White House and at Harvard Law School is producing discomfort among some leading civil rights organizations, leaving them struggling to decide whether they want her to join the Supreme Court. (more)
Today marks the five-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s notorious Kelo v. New London decision. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court held that seizing private property in order to lease it to a private developer met the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause—“nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”—“public use” requirement. Huh? (more)
Torture victims won a victory Tuesday when the Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not automatically protect ex-officials of foreign governments from lawsuits over the abuse. (more)
Elena Kagan’s most notable foray into public life was kicking military recruiters off of Harvard’s campus. (more)
