Associate Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said Friday she fears the high court may lack a justice going forward who would serve as a swing-vote on cases, speaking hours after President Trump’s second nominee Brett Kavanaugh secured enough votes to be confirmed.
Kagan said at a conference for women at Princeton University that over the past three decades, starting with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and continuing with Justice Anthony Kennedy, that there was a figure on the bench “who found the center or people couldn’t predict in that sort of way.”
“It’s not so clear, that I think going forward, that sort of middle position — it’s not so clear whether we’ll have it,” Kagan said.
“All of us need to be aware of that — every single one of us — and to realize how precious the court’s legitimacy is,” she added. “It’s an incredibly important thing for the court to guard is this reputation of being impartial, being neutral and not being simply extension of a terribly polarizing process.”
Kagan, an appointee of former President Obama, spoke Friday alongside fellow Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who also hails from the Supreme Court’s liberal bloc.
Justice Elena Kagan: "In the last, really 30 years, starting with Justice O'Connor and continuing with Justice Kennedy, there has been a person who found the center or people couldn't predict in that sort of way." pic.twitter.com/7Yr78M3cke
— The Hill (@thehill) October 6, 2018
Her comments came hours after it became clear that Kavanaugh, Trump’s pick to succeed the retiring Kennedy, had enough votes to be confirmed.
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JUST IN: Kagan warns: Supreme Court may not have a swing vote anymore https://t.co/fwsHZH2VdH pic.twitter.com/TszXYXPcJY
— The Hill (@thehill) October 6, 2018
Why does the court need a swing vote? Indeed, why does the court have sides? Courts are supposed to follow the Constitution regardless of the judge’s personal feelings, beliefs and politics.
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