Elena Kagan Biography

Elena Kagan Biography

Elena Kagan is the newest and youngest member of the United States Supreme Court (U.S. Supreme Court). She was nominated as an Associate Justice by President Barack Obama and was sworn into office on August 7, 2010 (U.S. Supreme Court). She is the 112th Supreme Court Justice to serve on the court and the 4th woman to serve (U.S. Supreme Court). Elena Kagan served as the U.S. Solicitor General from January 2009 until her Supreme Court nomination in May 2010 under the Obama administration (Who Runs Gov). She was the first woman to serve as solicitor general (Biography.com). She had never been a judge prior to becoming a Supreme Court Justice, but was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1999 to the U.S. Court…show more content…
After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1986, she clerked for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals and then clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court (Biography.com). Elena Kagan also served as Associate Counsel to President Clinton from 1995 to 1996, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director to the Domestic Policy Council from 1997 to 1999 (National Archive News). Elena Kagan is still establishing her judicial philosophy. “Kagan established herself quickly as a forceful and insightful questioner on a court filled with strong personalities (Barnes 2011).” Kagan is considered to be a liberal judge and has only heard a small amount of cases brought to the Supreme Court. She delivered a dissenting opinion in Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn et al in which the majority (5-4) reversed the Court of Appeals decision challenging the Establishment Clause…show more content…
Winn et al. 2011. 563 U.S. _____ 2011. Accessed at http://www/supremecourt.gove/opinions/10pdf/09-987.pdf.

Arizona Free Enterprise Fund v. Bennett and McComish v. Bennett 2011. 564 U.S. ___ 2011. Accessed at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-238.pdf. November 5, 2011.

Barnes, Robert. 2011. “Verdict on Kagan’s First Year on Supreme Court.” The Washington Post. Accessed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/verdict-on-kagans-first-year-on-supreme-court/2011/09/21/gIQAnJ14wK_story.htm. November 5, 2011.
Biography.com. 2011. “Elena Kagan.” Biography.com. Accessed at http://www.biography.com/people/elena-kagan-560228. November 5, 2011.

National Archive News. 2011. “Records Pertaining to Elena Kagan.” National Archive News. Accessed at http://www.archives.gov/news/elena-kagan/. November 5, 2011.

Russonello, Giovanni. 2010. “Kagan Stirs Strict Constructionists.” Connect Tri States. Accessed at www.connecttristates.com/news/story.aspx?id=476656. November 5,