Documents recently dug out of the Library of Congress demonstrate that Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, while clerking for the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, took far left positions on hot-button social issues.
-- From "Documents Show Kagan's Liberal Opinion on Social Issues" by Jan Crawford, CBS News 6/3/10
[The documents] provide a remarkably candid picture of her opinions, including on the most controversial issue Supreme Court nominees ever confront: abortion.
Although Kagan's confirmation has thus far been an all but foregone conclusion, sources say these documents will give Republicans a few cards of their own to mount a strong fight against her.
And they will only heighten demands for more information on her views--including interest in her papers in the Clinton Library. Some of the Clinton Library documents, which cover her time working in that administration, could be released as early as Friday.
The Marshall documents are legal memos summarizing cases the Court had been asked to consider. They cover the spectrum of hot-button social issues: abortion, civil rights, gun rights, prisoners' rights and the constitutional underpinnings for recognizing gay marriage.
On abortion, Kagan wrote a memo in a case involving a prisoner who wanted the state to pay for her to have the procedure. Kagan expressed concern to Marshall that the conservative-leaning Court would use the case to rule against the woman--and possibly undo precedents protecting a woman's right to abortion.
Kagan also wrote a memo that senators could use to question whether she believes there is a constitutional right to gay marriage.
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