Lambda Legal Statement on the Nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court

"While we don't expect a nominee to answer questions about how she would rule on specific issues that will come before her, we do expect that she will respond to questions about her judicial philosophy and her understanding of core constitutional principals of equal protection and privacy that are so crucial to the civil rights of people who face discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and/or HIV status."

(New York, May 10, 20010) - In response to the nomination of Elena Kagan, Solicitor General of the United States, to the U.S. Supreme Court, Lambda Legal's Executive Director, Kevin Cathcart, made the following statement:

"We are pleased with the Obama Administration's efforts to increase the representation of women on the Court - if Solicitor General Kagan is confirmed it will be the first time in history that the nation's highest Court will have three women on the bench. Solicitor General Kagan's legal background and experience are impressive: she has been a trailblazer in her profession and a distinguished legal scholar and leader for many years.

"All Americans need justices who will uphold the Constitution, apply its principles carefully to the critical questions that come before them and protect personal freedoms for everyone in America, not just a select few. Lambda Legal's memorandum about principles for federal court nominations identifies qualities necessary for a fair and impartial federal judge, including adherence to precedents established in cases of importance to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV. Among those are vital precedents safeguarding the rights of liberty and privacy, protecting against anti-gay and anti-transgender bias, preserving the right to sue in state courts under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and guarding against HIV discrimination.

"As Dean of Harvard Law School, Kagan took a strong position in opposition to the military's policy of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and joined a brief arguing that military recruiters could be barred from campuses.  However, the Obama Administration has taken legal positions on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and the so-called 'Defense of Marriage Act' with which we strongly disagree.   While we don't expect a nominee to answer questions about how she would rule on specific issues such as these that will come before her, we do expect that she will respond to questions about her judicial philosophy and her understanding of core constitutional principals of equal protection and privacy that are so crucial to the civil rights of people who face discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and/or HIV status.

"We urge the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to look to those principles as they assess Solicitor General Kagan's qualifications to take the seat once held by Justice Stevens and, before him, Justice William O. Douglas, two of the Supreme Court's most stalwart protectors of individual rights."