It's official: President Obama has chosen Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee to succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. As solicitor general, Kagan is the federal government's chief advocate before the Supreme Court, though she has never served as a judge. A former dean of Harvard Law School, at age 50 she also would be the youngest justice and the third female on the court. What are Kagan's legal views? Is she the best choice to replace the high court's flagship liberal justice? And are we headed for a contentious confirmation process?
Guest:
David Savage, Supreme Court Reporter for LA Times
Mark Tushnet, Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School
James R. Copeland, Director of the Center for Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute