Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan
Official portrait of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan
Official portrait, 2013
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Assumed office
August 7, 2010
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byJohn Paul Stevens
45th Solicitor General of the United States
In office
March 19, 2009 – May 17, 2010
PresidentBarack Obama
DeputyNeal Katyal[1]
Preceded byEdwin Kneedler[2] (acting)
Succeeded byNeal Katyal[1] (acting)
11th Dean of Harvard Law School
In office
July 1, 2003 – March 19, 2009
Preceded byRobert Clark
Succeeded byMartha Minow
Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
In office
1997–2000
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byJeremy Ben-Ami[3]
Succeeded byEric Liu[4]
Personal details
Born (1960-04-28) April 28, 1960 (age 63)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[5]
Education
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Elena Kagan (/ˈkɡən/ KAY-guhn; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the fourth woman to become a member of the Court.

Kagan was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from Princeton University, Worcester College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School, she clerked for a federal Court of Appeals judge and for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. She began her career as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, leaving to serve as Associate White House Counsel, and later as a policy adviser under President Bill Clinton. After a nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which expired without action, she became a professor at Harvard Law School and was later named its first female dean.

In 2009, Kagan became the first female solicitor general of the United States.[6] The following year, President Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy arising from the impending retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. The United States Senate confirmed her nomination by a vote of 63–37. As of 2022, she is the most recent justice appointed without any prior judicial experience. She is considered part of the Court's liberal wing, but tends to be its most moderate justice. She has written the majority opinion in some landmark cases, such as Cooper v. Harris, Chiafalo v. Washington, and Kisor v. Wilkie, as well as several notable dissenting opinions, such as in Rucho v. Common Cause, West Virginia v. EPA, Brnovich v. DNC, Janus v. AFSCME, and Seila Law v. CFPB.

  1. ^ a b Goldstein, Tom (August 13, 2010). "Anticipating the next Solicitor General". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Markon, Jerry (July 31, 2010). "Edwin Kneedler a 'savvy' choice to argue suit against Ariz. immigration law". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 19, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Warshaw, Shirley Anne (2013). Guide to the White House Staff. CQ Press. p. 445. ISBN 9781452234328. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Warshaw, Shirley Anne (2013). Guide to the White House Staff. CQ Press. p. 458. ISBN 9781452234328. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  5. ^ Weiss, Debra Cassens (February 3, 2020). "Which SCOTUS justices are registered Democrats or Republicans? Fix the Court investigates". ABA Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Elena Kagan | United States jurist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. April 24, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.