For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2010
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) spoke on the Senate floor today in support of the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Here are excerpts of her remarks:
I am very pleased to be here to speak in favor of Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Mr. President, over the course of our nation’s history, there have been 111 Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Only three of these have been women, and they are outstanding women – Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. There have never been more than two women serving on the Supreme Court at the same time, but this week Elena Kagan is poised to rewrite that history and set a new high-water mark for our country…
When she is confirmed, we will have three incredibly talented women serving on the Supreme Court at the same time for the very first time in our country’s history…
Elena Kagan was born into a family with a deep and abiding commitment to public service. Her mother was a public school teacher. Her dad was a tenants’ lawyer. She followed in both her parents’ footsteps serving as both a teacher and a lawyer. She brings a depth of legal experience that will serve her well on the Supreme Court. She served as a law clerk for legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall. She has been an attorney in private practice. She has been a White House lawyer, a law school professor, a dean, and now she is the nation’s top lawyer…
I want to repeat her experiences: law clerk for legendary Justice Thurgood Marshall, an attorney in private practice, a White House lawyer, a law school professor, a dean of a law school and the nation’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court. I think that resume speaks for itself…
As Solicitor General, the country’s top lawyer before the Court, she has filed hundreds of briefs and successfully argued a broad range of cases, including defending Congress’ ability to protect our children from pedophiles and protecting our nation’s ability to prosecute those who provide material support to terror groups. That is why she has the support of so many former Solicitors General, and that is why she received the highest rating from the American Bar Association – unanimously well-qualified.
She is widely respected for her intellect, her deep knowledge of constitutional and administrative law. And she has a proven ability to build consensus…
Let’s hear what Elena Kagan’s peers and colleagues in the legal profession say about her. There’s a letter signed by eight former Solicitors General who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and this is what they wrote. “Elena Kagan would bring to the Supreme Court a breadth of experience and a history of great accomplishment in the law.”
Then there’s a joint letter from former Deputy Solicitors General and Assistants to the Solicitor General. They write about her: “Her intellectual ability, integrity, and independence, her personal skills, her broad experience promise to make her an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.”
And the National Association of Women Judges wrote, “General Kagan’s rich and varied legal career as a private attorney, a White House lawyer, a professor, a dean, and as the country’s top lawyer provides her with a unique constellation of experiences that will bring fresh ideas to the Court.”
Sixty-nine law school deans wrote a letter on her behalf, and they wrote, “She is an incisive and astute analyst of the law with a deep understanding of both doctrine and policy.”
And the National District Attorneys Association wrote that they believe that Solicitor General Kagan’s diverse and impressive life experience will be a welcome addition to the Court.
So, if you look at these letters, Mr. President, what you see is a broad swath of support for this nominee, from Republicans and Democrats and Independents, from people who practice the law to prosecutors. It’s a very, very broad range of support.
I think this is an important day for all Americans who believe that every branch of our government – Congress, the Administration, and the Judiciary – should reflect the diversity of our great country…
Elena Kagan is a role model for so many women entering the legal profession today. Her intellect, her broad range of legal experience, her sense of fairness, and her profound respect for the law make her well-qualified to serve as an Associate Justice of the Court. So I will be so honored to vote in favor of her nomination.
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Source: Press Release http://boxer.senate.gov/en/press/releases/080410b.cfm