Hatch to Vote "No" on Kagan
Senator
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) announced today his intention to vote against Elena Kagan’s
nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hatch, former Chairman and current member of the Judiciary Committee,
released a statement asserting he had actively participated in the hearings and
took great care in examining her record and considering views of both her
opponents and supporters. Hatch
came to the conclusion that “[t]he law must control the judge; the judge must
not control the law….[B]ased on evidence rather than blind faith, General Kagan
regrettably does not meet this standard and that, therefore, I cannot support
her appointment.”
Hatch cited
Kagan’s lack of judicial and legal experience, as well as her endorsement of an
activist judicial philosophy and “disturbing situations in which it appears
that her personal or political views drove her legal views,” among his reasons
for not backing her nomination:
Supreme Court Justices who, like
General Kagan, had no prior judicial experience did have an average of 21 years
in private legal practice. General Kagan has two. The fact that her experience
is instead academic and political only magnifies my emphasis on judicial
philosophy as the most important qualification for judicial service.
Over nearly 25 years, General Kagan has endorsed, and praised those who
endorse, an activist judicial philosophy. I was surprised when she encouraged
us at the hearing simply to discard or ignore certain parts of her record. I am
unable to do that. I also cannot ignore disturbing situations in which it
appears that her personal or political views drove her legal views. She
promoted the Clinton administration’s extreme position on abortion, including
the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. As Dean of Harvard Law School, she blocked the access by
military recruiters that federal law requires. And she took legal positions on
important issues such as freedom of speech that could undermine the liberties
of all Americans.
Read the full release here.