Ask Elena Kagan!

by Jessie Weiser
Program Associate, RAC

On May 10^th, PresidentObama made his second nomination to the Supreme Court, tapping Solicitor General Elena Kagan to bethe 112th Supreme Court Justice.  Just yesterday, Senator Patrick Leahy,Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that the hearings on thenomination, a critical piece of the Senate’s process of “advise and consent,”will begin on June 28^th.

In the coming weeks, the ReligiousAction Center will review Solicitor General Kagan’s record to learn more abouther judicial philosophy and temperament. As we have done for the last threeSupreme Court nominations, we have created a special web page to facilitate theReform Movement’s involvement in this process – this means you! On www.AskElenaKagan.com,you can suggest questions that members of the Senate JudiciaryCommittee should ask Solicitor General Kagan during her confirmation hearing.

 This is agreat opportunity to make your voice heard and your Jewish values known. Take amoment to think about what you want to know about Solicitor General Kagan,submit a question (or a few!), and forward the site to friends, colleagues andfellow congregants who might want to know more about our newest Supreme Courtnominee’s stances on the issues of importance to them! We will compile a listof these questions and send a selection of them along to the Committee membersto ensure that the questions being asked reflect the issues of concern andimportance to Reform Jews and Americans.

The work of the Court is vital tothe application of justice in our nation and to the preservation of the valuesthat the Reform Movement supports. The judiciaryhas a powerful and lasting impact on the issues that the religious communitycares about, including but not limited to the preservation of civil libertiesand civil rights, protection of the environment, freedom of choice and speech,and freedom from imposed religion. Judges and justices granted lifetimeappointments to the Federal Bench have the ability to either safeguard or erodethese rights over the many years they serve. As the nominee herself stated at the ceremonyannouncing her nomination, “[L]aw matters; because it keeps us safe;because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms; and because it isthe foundation of our democracy.” 

Wecannot afford to remain on the sidelines of the debate over this nomination.What hangs in the balance is nothing less than the future resolution of today’sfierce policy debates over nearly every issue on our Jewish communalagenda.

Sotake a moment to participate in the vital process of reviewing SolicitorGeneral Kagan’s record. Submit your questions now to www.AskElenaKagan.com.