KAGAN TO BE SWORN IN SATURDAY

Elena Kagan will be sworn in as the 112th Justice of the United States Supreme Court this Saturday. Kagan, now the former Solicitor General of the United States, was confirmed to the Court by a vote of 63 to 37. We expect this event to make little to no impact as to the Court's jurisprudence as Kagan is replacing Justice Stevens, the most progressive of our Supreme Court Justices.

KAGAN TO BE CONFIRMED TODAY

Solicitor General Kagan is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court today. Kagan will be the 112th Justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court and the 4th woman to do so. Kagan will be replacing Justice Stevens who retired at the end of the Court's last term. The new Justice can be expected to align with the progressive block of the Court.

KAGAN LIKELY TO BE CONFIRMED THIS WEEK

Solicitor General Elena Kagan will likely be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court this week. While select Senators have publicly stated they will vote against Kagan, we expect her to be easily confirmed.

NELSON TO VOTE AGAINST KAGAN

Nebraska Senator has stated that he will vote against Elena Kagan's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nelson is the first Democrat to state that he will vote against Kagan. The highly conservative Nebraska Democrat claims that he will be voting against Kagan because of concerns raised by his constituents but will not support a fillibuster against Kagan.

As previously reported, we believe that Kagan will be easily confirmed.

ALEXANDER TO VOTE AGAINST KAGAN

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander has stated that he will vote against Elena Kagan's confirmation to the United States Supreme Court. Alexander's stated reason for this is his disagreement with Kagan over military recruiting on law school campuses; Kagan, like many other law school deans, did not allow military recruiters onto the Harvard law school campus due to the military's policy banning gays from military service.

As we have stressed on numerous occasions, we expect Kagan to be easily confirmed to the Court.

COLLINS TO SUPPORT KAGAN

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) has stated that she will vote to confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court. This follows the recent announcement of Senators Graham and Lugar, who have both indicated that they will vote to confirm Kagan.

As previously reported, we expect Kagan to be easily confirmed to the Court.

SENATOR LUGAR TO BACK KAGAN

Senator Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, has announced that he will back Elena Kagan's nomination to the US Supreme Court. This follows a similar announcement from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. While some Republicans will vote against Kagan in an effort to score political points with constituents, we have repeatedly predicted that Kagan will be easily nominated.

KAGAN CLEARS SENATE COMMITTEE

The Senate Judiciary Committee has, by a vote of 13-6, cleared the nominate of Elana Kagan to serve as our next Supreme Court Justice. Kagan's confirmation will now proceed to a full Senate vote. We expect Kagan to be easily confirmed to the United States Supreme Court.

KAGAN MAY RECUSE HERSELF FROM CHALLENGES TO HEALTHCARE LAW

Elena Kagan has testified that she would determine on a "case by case" basis whether to recuse herself, if appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, from cases challenging the recent health care overhaul. Many states have indicated that they will file suit in an effort to prevent the law from taking effect. Given what Ciciliano & Associates sees as the frivolous nature of such suits, and the very slim chance that such suits would ever reach the U.S. Supreme Court, we see this as a non issue.

SENATOR McCAIN TO VOTE AGAINST KAGAN

Senator John McCain (R-Az.) has announced that he will vote against Solicitor General Kagan in regards to her nomination to the Supreme Court. While other Senators have made similar comments, we expect Kagan to be confirmed easily when the time comes for her confirmation vote.

KAGAN MEETING WITH LAW MAKERS

Nominee Elena Kagan is reportedly meeting with members of the Senate in regards to her upcoming nomination hearings. While we expect that Kagan will be easily confirmed, we also expect various politicians to attempt a scoring of political points by attacking Kagan on various issues.

EDITORIAL: KAGAN'S CONFIRMATION LIKELY

It is highly likely that Elena Kagan will be confirmed as the next Justice on the United States Supreme Court. While various senators may "talk tough" about whether Kagan will be confirmed, it is highly unusual for a nominee to be rejected unless there are specific background problems with the potential nominee.

We predict that Kagan will be confirmed to the Court rather easily.

KAGAN TO BE NOMINATED FOR THE SUPREME COURT

It is being reported that President Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to be the next Justice on the United States Supreme Court. A nomination is is necessary due to the pending retirement of John Paul Stevens.

Given the ease with which Justices are confirmed, it is highly likely that we will now have three female Justices on the Court for the first time.

DIANE WOOD INTERVIEWS WITH OBAMA

It is being reported that Diane Wood has recently met with President Obama to interview for the Supreme Court vacancy. A seat on the Court is coming open due to the upcoming retirement of Justice Stevens.

This firm expects Wood to be the nominee given her past relationship with President Obama in Chicago.

POTENTIAL NOMINEE: JENNIFER GRANHOLM

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is on the reported short list of people being considered to replace the retiring Justice Stevens.

Granholm, a former beauty queen, is a naturalized United States citizen. She graduated from Harvard Law School and later became Attorney General of Michigan. Granholm, the first female Governor of Michigan, has worked towards diversifying Michigan's economy due to the decline in Michigan manufacturing.

Granholm has no judicial experience. This is not uncommon as former Chief Justice Earl Warren never served as a Judge before his appointment to the Supreme Court.

POTENTIAL NOMINEE: ELENA KAGAN

Elena Kagan is one of the people reportedly being considered for the United States Supreme Court. The pending opening on the high court is due to the upcoming retirement of Justice Stevens.

Kagan is the current Solicitor General of the United States and is the first woman to hold the post. She is a graduate of Harvard and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Kagan served as an Associate White House Counsel under President Clinton and is the first female Dean in the history of Harvard Law.

Kagan has never served as Judge and, accordingly, it is difficult to determine what her judicial philosophy would be. Given that she, like many law professors, has supported the banning of military recruiters from law school campuses (due to the military ban preventing homosexuals from serving in the armed forces), it is likely she would be a progressive minded Judge.

POTENTIAL NOMINEE: DIANE WOOD

Judge Diane Wood is one of the names being mentioned as President Obama's likely Supreme Court nominee. A nomination has become necessary due to the pending retirement of Justice Stevens. Wood was previously suggested as a possible replacement to Justice Souter. Souter, instead, was replaced with Justice Sotomayer.

Wood graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975. She clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. She has taught at both Georgetown and the University of Chicago Law School. She also worked in government positions is both Democratic and and Republican administrations.

Appointed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 1995, Wood was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. As an appellate Judge, her voting record has supported decisions which restricted abortion protesters. She has also upheld a broad reading of the power bestowed upon Congress by the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.

SIX WOMEN ON OBAMA'S SHORT LIST

ABC News is reporting that President Obama's short list to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens includes ten people, six of whom are women. The list reportedly includes Elana Kagan, Merrick Garland, Dianne Wood, Jennifer Granholm, Leah Ward Sears, Janet Napolitano, Martha Minow, Sidney Thomas, Cass Sunstein, and Sheldon Whitehouse.

The White House is denying rumors that Secretary of State Clinton may be tapped for the post.

SENATOR HATCH SUGGESTS THAT HILLARY CLINTON MAY BE NOMINATED TO COURT

Senator Hatch (R-Utah) has suggested that president Obama may nominate Hillary Clinton to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. This writer views such a nomination as highly unlikely. A nomination of Secretary Clinton would make the nomination process far more politically charged than normal. The politics of such a nomination, combined with the fact that 2010 is an election year, would make such a nomination surprising.

JUSTICE STEVENS TO RETIRE

Justice John Paul Stevens has announced that he will retire when the US Supreme Court finishes work this summer. Stevens, who is nearly 90 years old, was nominated by President Nixon and is a solid progressive in regards to protecting the rights of the accused.

Stevens' retirement is unlikely to change the Court's jurisprudence as President Obama will almost certainly appoint another progressive Judge to replace him.