Expect Another Woman on Supreme Court

Obama poised to change high court's gender balance
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 3, 2010 5:59 PM CDT
Obama Likely To Pick a Woman For Supreme Court - Newsweek.com
In this Jan. 28, 2010 file photo, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan speaks during a panel about Women Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar at the Newseum in Washington.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The prospect of nominating another woman to the Supreme Court appeals to President Obama and may strongly influence his choice of the successor to John Paul Stevens. With the Court's imminent retirees made of up mostly of liberals, Obama will probably only preserve the court's ideological status quo. What he can change, however, is its gender balance, Daniel Klaidman writes for Newsweek.

Obama has privately told friends that he'd like nothing more than to leave the presidency having installed three women on the bench. Doing so would have short-term advantages: Women form a disproportionately large fraction of Obama supporters. That's another good sign for Elena Kagan, who is again on Obama's short list. The solicitor general has a reputation for building consensus with conservative colleagues—a quality Obama admires. (More US Supreme Court stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X