{"id":299,"date":"2010-07-19T14:28:28","date_gmt":"2010-07-19T14:28:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/07\/what-happened-to-the-kagan-sta.html"},"modified":"2010-07-19T14:28:28","modified_gmt":"2010-07-19T14:28:28","slug":"what-happened-to-the-kagan-sta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/07\/what-happened-to-the-kagan-sta.html","title":{"rendered":"What Happened to the Kagan Standard?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry,  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/span>I agree.  <\/span>The confirmation hearings produced little when it came to clear and direct answers from Elena Kagan about her judicial philosophy – specifically how she views church\/state issues.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

I can’t help but recall the words she used in a 1995 law-journal article.  <\/span>After serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff during Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s hearing, Kagan wrote that Supreme Court confirmation hearings had become a “vapid and hollow charade” and taken on “an air of vacuity and farce.”  <\/span><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, she offered a solution calling on a nominee to discuss “the votes she would cast, the perspective she would add, and the direction in which she would move the institution.”<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s the problem – Kagan didn’t take her own advice.  <\/span>She refused to discuss any of these at her own hearing, which prompted the question:  <\/span>What happened to the Kagan standard?<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The vote count is underway as the Senate Judiciary Committee – followed by the full Senate – votes on her nomination. <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Sen. Orrin Hatch <\/a>(R-UT), who voted in favor of Kagan in March 2009 when she was up for confirmation as President Obama’s solicitor general, has said he will not support Kagan’s nomination to the high court.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Sen. Hatch lamented that she chose not to answer many questions by a host of Senators – including questions about freedom of speech and campaign finance reform.  <\/span>Based on her academic and political experience, Sen. Hatch concluded that Kagan would not embrace a judicial philosophy that he could support.  <\/span>In his words, her record “shows that her primarily academic and political experience and her activist judicial philosophy make her inappropriate for serving on the Supreme Court.”   <\/span>He added:  <\/span>“Her hearing offered nothing to neutralize the clear evidence of what kind of justice she will be.”<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

And, then there’s this analysis from Bloomberg news <\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/span>which points to the notion that adding Kagan to the Court is likely to only further split the Court – and the voting – along partisan lines. <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

“Kagan’s career suggests she will join the Democratic group more often than not. She served for four years in President Bill Clinton’s White House, working to support abortion rights, bolster weapons restrictions and authorize federal regulation of tobacco.   <\/span>‘My views are generally progressive,’ the lifelong Democrat said at her confirmation hearing in June.”<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Barry, I don’t think we will get a clear understanding of where Kagan stands on the church\/state issues and a host of others until she is on the bench and begins actively participating in cases.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s certainly not the way it should work – but the carefully choreographed confirmation hearings did nothing to reveal much beyond what we already knew.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

And, consider this:  <\/span>if confirmed, Kagan would be the first successful nominee in recent years – according to a new Gallup poll <\/a>– whose nomination was backed by less than a majority of Americans.<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span><\/font><\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry,  I agree.  The confirmation hearings produced little when it came to clear and direct answers from Elena Kagan about her judicial philosophy – specifically how she views church\/state issues. I can’t help but recall the words she used in a 1995 law-journal article.  After serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff during Justice Ruth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress","category-supreme-court"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Happened to the Kagan Standard? - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2010\/07\/what-happened-to-the-kagan-sta.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Happened to the Kagan Standard? - Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barry,  I agree.  The confirmation hearings produced little when it came to clear and direct answers from Elena Kagan about her judicial philosophy – specifically how she views church\/state issues. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}