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Kagan Expected to be Confirmed as US Supreme Court Justice

   VOA News 05 August 2010
   US Solicitor General Elena Kagan (file photo)

Photo: AP

   US Solicitor General Elena Kagan (file photo)

   U.S.  Solicitor  General  Elena  Kagan  is poised to become the fourth
   woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
   The U.S. Senate is expected to approve her nomination Thursday.
   Kagan  is  expected  to have the support of at least 60 senators, well
   over  the 50 needed for confirmation.  Sixty votes would be needed to
   end debate on her nomination and hold a final vote.
   President  Barack  Obama  nominated  Kagan to take the seat of Justice
   John  Paul  Stevens,  who  retired  in  June.  She is not expected to
   change   the  court's  ideological  balance,  which  currently  has  a
   five-member, conservative-leaning majority.
   Republican  Senator  Jeff  Sessions has been a vocal critic of Kagan.Â
   He  accuses  her  of  being  an  activist who will use her position to
   advance  her  political  agenda.   Other  Republicans have criticized
   Kagan for her lack of judicial experience. Â
   During  her  confirmation  hearings,  Kagan  was  criticized  for  her
   decision  as  dean  of  Harvard  Law  School  to  limit  U.S. military
   recruiters'  access to students on campus.  Kagan has said the limits
   were  justified  under  the  university's  anti-discrimination  policy
   because the military bars service by people who are openly gay.
   The  other women to have served on the court are current Justices Ruth
   Bader  Ginsburg  and  Sonia  Sotomayor, and retired Justice Sandra Day
   O'Connor.

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