Elena Kagan – Wikipedia

Elena Kagan (New York, April 28, 1960) is an American jurist and magistrate.
Was the principal of the Faculty of Law of the University of Harvard e Solicitor General of the United States. Since August 2010 he has been associated judge of the United States Supreme Court.

Origins and training [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Elena Kagan was born and raised in New York, second of the three children of Gloria Gittelman Kagan, elementary teacher, and Robert Kagan, lawyer. ^{[first] [2]} The family attended Lincoln Square’s synagogue; At 13, Elena, of an independent and decisive nature, had a contrast with the rabbi on the ways of his bat mitzvah . Today it is recognized in conservative Judaism. ^[3]

He attended the Hunter College High School, and enrolled at the University of Princeton, where he achieved a bachelor In history in 1981. Among the topics of his studies there was the socialist movement in the city of New York in the first part of the twentieth century. In his thesis To the Final Conflict: Socialism in New York City, 1900–1933 , drawn up under the guidance of the historian Sean Wilentz, Kagan wrote: «Through his internal struggles, therefore, the socialist party consumed his forces until they run out forever … it is a sadly instructive story for those who, after beyond Half a century from the decline of socialism, they still want to change America ». ^[4] According to Wilentz, Kagan did not intend to defend socialism: “He was interested in the subject. Studying something is not the same as to approve it ». ^[5] Wilentz described Kagan as “one of the most important legal minds in the country, he is still the witty person, nice and with the feet on the ground that I proudly remember from the time when he was at the university”. ^[6]

He then obtained his degree in Philosophy at the University of Oxford (Writster College) in 1983 and the degree with praise in Law at the University of Harvard in 1986, where he was among the editors of the Harvard Law Review . The friend Jeffrey Toobin recalls that she “from the beginning has distinguished herself as a person with a formidable mind … then the faculty of jurisprudence was politicized and divided. She oriented herself in the factions with ease, and obtained respect for everyone. ” ^[7]

Legal and academic career [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In 1987 Kagan was assistant to Abner Mikva, judge of the Court of Appeal for the Columbia district, and the following year of Thurgood Marshall, judge of the Supreme Court. He worked at the Williams & Connolly law firm in Washington, and since 1991 he has taught constitutional and administrative right at the University of Chicago, becoming a full professor in 1995. He published articles on freedom of speech and the first amendment of the Constitution, ^[8] It is Confirmation Messes, Old and New, A review by a book by Stephen L. Carter on the appointment and confirmation procedures. According to his colleagues, the Kagan students from the beginning showed her appreciation and admiration, and she was promoted to the rank of full professor “despite the reserves of some colleagues who thought he had not published enough”. ^[5]

Service to the White House [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Between 1995 and 1999, during the presidency of Bill Clinton, Elena Kagan held various consultancy roles: associated legal councilor, deputy assistant for internal policy and deputy director of the Council for internal policy. On June 17, 1999 Clinton appointed him judge of the Court of Appeal for the Columbia district; However, the Senate (then with a republican majority) has never considered the appointment, which therefore remained without effectiveness.

Return to academic activity [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

After leaving the white house, Kagan returned to university. The Faculty of Law of Chicago did not want to re -establish it, apparently because it is doubtful about its intentions to engage in the academic activity. ^[9] Elena Kagan instead was taken by the University of Harvard. Here he published in 2001 Presidential Administration , an important article of administrative law on the role of the President of the United States in the direction of the federal administrative apparatus, and on how the president can implement his political program by means of a closer control over the regulatory activity carried out by the federal bodies.

In 2001 Kagan became a full professor and in 2003 he was appointed principal of the faculty of jurisprudence, the first woman to hold this assignment. As a principal, it successfully strive to improve the satisfaction of the students, and implemented a reform of the study program. His direction was based on a style aimed at creating consent, which contributed to mitigating the ideological contrasts present in the teaching staff. ^{[ten] [11] [twelfth]} He also convinced some well -known jurists to move to Harvard, such as Cass Sunstein and Lawrence Lessig, and also hired conservative teachers, who were previously not welcome to Harvard.

Controversy on military recruiters [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Elena Kagan continued to apply a previous decision to exclude military recruiters from the faculty due to the discrimination exercised by the armed forces towards homosexuals (the so -called policy don’t ask, don’t tell ). He supported a law against a law (the “Solomon amendment”) which denied federal funding to universities that excluded military recruiters, but when the appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court, ^[13] I immediately readmit them to the faculty. However, he showed his opposition to this policy, calling it “a profound wrong, and a first -rate moral injustice”. ^[14]

Lawyer general [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

On January 5, 2009 Barack Obama, winner of the presidential election held in the previous November, announced his decision to appoint Elena Kagan lawyer general ( Solicitor General ) of the United States. ^{[15] [16]} Kagan had a very poor forensic experience, and had never discussed a case in court. ^[17] The Senate, however, approved the appointment on March 19, 2009 with a vote that ended in favor of Kagan with 61 votes against 31 ^[18] : then became the first woman to hold this position, and made her debut before the Supreme Court on September 9, 2009, supporting the position of the federal government in case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission . ^[19] He personally appeared before the court in five other cases. ^[20]

Appointment to the Supreme Court [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Even before Barack Obama’s election, Kagan was considered one of the most likely choices for the Supreme Court if the presidential election of 2008 had been won by a democrat. ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]} In fact, he was among the candidates considered by Obama to replace David Souter, who on May 1, 2009 had announced his retreat from the court. ^[25] It was thought that Kagan could be favored as a lawyer general, but finally Obama preferred to appoint Sonia Sotomayor instead of Souter. Elena Kagan was instead chosen on May 9, 2010 ^{[26] [27] [28]} To succeed Judge John Paul Stevens, who announced his next retirement on April 9, 2010. ^[29]

Elena Kagan has rarely expressed its political or ideological guidelines in public, and the number of his publications is scarce. On the conservative part she criticized it because it was considered too left, ^{[30] [thirty first] [32] [33] [34]} While some progressives have declared themselves disappointed by the choice of a jurist who appears too moderate to them. ^{[35] [36] [37]} The documentation known and his career suggest that Kagan has a moderately progressive orientation: “He is certainly left, but he is also cautious, pragmatic and politically noticed”. ^[38]

The appointment of Elena Kagan was supported by the principals of 69 faculties of jurisprudence in an open letter made known at the beginning of June, which praised her ability to build coalitions and her “familiarity with both doctrine and politics” beyond that his writings of legal analysis. ^[39] It was also supported by eight of his predecessors in the office of lawyer general. ^[40]

The Senate Justice Commission has held public hearings for examining the appointment starting from June 28th. On July 20, the Commission gave favorable opinion with 13 votes out of 19. On August 5, the Senate definitively approved the appointment with 63 votes in favor and 37 against. ^[41] All the democrats voted in favor, except one, and the two independent; All the Republicans, except five, voted against. The vote was an example of the “growing political polarization of conflicts on candidates for the court”: most of the republicans criticized the lack of experience of Kagan, accused her of hostility towards the armed forces and argued that her decisions As a judge they will be influenced by his political positions and by those of Obama. The Democrats, on the other hand, have praised him as a brilliant scholar who will increase the variety of experiences and points of view within the court. ^[42] On August 7, with the oath entitled by the chief judge John Roberts, Kagan came into office. ^{[43] [44]}

Elena Kagan is the first member of the Court in almost forty years not to have a previous experience as a judge (to find another one must be traced back to William Rehnquist, who entered the court in January 1972). ^[45] It is the fourth women’s judge in the history of the court, and the third in the current court; It is also the eighth Jewish judge in the history of the court, and the third in the current court.

Elena Kagan has never married and has no children. He has two brothers, who are both teachers in public schools, as the mother had been.

• ( IN ) Elena Kagan, Biographical Directory of Federal Judges . are fjc.gov , Federal Judicial Center. URL consulted on August 9, 2010 .
• ( IN ) Bibliography and documentation on Elena Kagan . are loc.gov , Law Library of Congress. URL consulted on August 9, 2010 .
• ( IN ) Profile of Elena Kagan . are Whounsgov.com , whurunsGOV.com, The Washington Post. URL consulted on August 9, 2010 (archived by URL Original August 18, 2010) .
• ( IN ) Analysis of the career and legal positions of Elena Kagan . are scotuswiki.com , SCOTUSwiki. URL consulted on August 9, 2010 .