Law in Contemporary Society

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ElenaKagan 7 - 15 May 2010 - Main.StephanieOduro
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 Is anyone else disappointed with this nomination (from a non liberal/conservative point of view)?

I think it is terribly disappointing that we keep getting these Ivy League judges on the Supreme Court. Sure, Kagan has no "bench" experience, so in that aspect she is diverse. She is also female, which may be needed. But, she is still what at least 7 out of the other 8 are on the court: legal intellectuals. Frankly, I would have liked to have seen (and would like to see in the future) non-intellectuals grace the halls of the court again. There used to be a time when one did not have to go to an Ivy league law school to be on the court. Now, it is a prerequisite. And, I can't think of a nominee that would be a bigger intellectual than Kagan: law prof turned Harvard Law School Dean. But, I don't know the woman, so, maybe I'm wrong.

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 I sound cynical here, so I will add that I'm glad she's a woman. The Court frequently hears cases that I think are easier to understand and decide well on if you have lived your life in a female body.

-- AmandaBell - 14 May 2010

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I agree with Matthew on his point about legal abstractions. The Supreme Court is able to turn such important issues into issues of abstractions, especially in some of the older opinions that we read in Con Law. However, I also think that the court has modernized a bit since the 1920’s. The opinions and the reasoning behind them have been easier to understand. On the other hand, that doesn’t always make the decisions that come out of the court the correct ones.

But my question to Matt is would Kagan be a better candidate if she had the same accolades but went to a non-Ivy League law school? What would that change? Also, what kind of “non-intellectuals” should be on the court? This goes to Amanda’s point to which I also agree: one would need to be some kind of intellectual to successfully finish law school and get a JD in the first place.

-- StephanieOduro - 15 May 2010

 
 
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Revision 7r7 - 15 May 2010 - 20:51:00 - StephanieOduro
Revision 6r6 - 14 May 2010 - 09:15:56 - AmandaBell
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