Politico's Mike Allen says that's what's coming.
Look for President Obama to name his Supreme Court pick Monday, and look for it to be Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law dean. The pick isn’t official, but top White House aides will be shocked if it’s otherwise. Kagan’s relative youth (50) is a huge asset for the lifetime post. And President Obama considers her to be a persuasive, fearless advocate who would serve as an intellectual counterweight to Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia, and could lure swing Justice Kennedy into some coalitions.
A White House aide denied that report to TPM.
Here's a preview of what will likely be a focus of debate in the confirmation hearings of any nominee in the wake of Citizens United. MoveOn, People for the American Way and Justice Action Campaign released polling [pdf] today that shows that most Americans want a Supreme Court nominee that defends ordinary Americans against the expansion of corporate rights. Here are some top line findings from the poll:
- While the Supreme Court enjoys the respect of average voters, its standing is colored by a majority of voters who believe that the Court favors big corporations over individuals. Such views of the court are shared by Democrats and Republicans.
- The perception of corporate bias is underscored by broad disagreement with many recent Supreme Court decisions, the Citizens United case among them.
- By a 20-point margin, voters believe that when Senators evaluate the President’s nominee, they should focus on the nominee’s understanding of the impact that legal decisions have on the lives of everyday Americans, rather than focusing solely on the nominee’s experience and qualifications. A 61 percent majority of Democrats feel this way, as do 60 percent of Republicans.
- Similarly, the most appealing description of a potential nominee tested in this survey is someone who will "be fair so that individuals and families get an impartial hearing and not give preferential treatment to powerful individuals and big corporations."
Given the relative blank judicial slate that is Elena Kagan, hopefully Leahy's Judiciary Committee will conduct an exhaustive hearing. While it's not in the tradition of the Committee to necessarily ask tough questions about the issues that the Court will face, and even less of a tradition for would-be justices to answer, we need an "activist" Judiciary Committee now more than ever. From Roe to the limits of corporate power to the limits of executive power in indefinite detention, the Court this nominee sits on will be decided core cases. The Senate has the right and duty to demand answers and information from judicial nominees on these questions.
In the specific case of Kagan, many of those questions need to focus on the lack of diversity in her hiring practices at Harvard Law.
Update: I updated the title to reflect that this is speculation from Politico, not a done deal yet.
