Supreme Court Justice - Term Paper Example

Records of the Supreme Court lists her as the fourth female justice to have served in that capacity and one hundred and twelfth overall judge among all the judges that have served in the supreme court since its establishment (O’Connor, 2004). Kagan was appointed to the position to succeed an outgoing justice Paul Stevens. Sworn in by the leader of the court, Chief justice John Roberts, Kagan officially began her term on the seventh day of August in the year 2010 after confirmation by the Senate.

In reference to her earlier academic and legal career, she has served as a legal clerk for justice Thurgood of the American Supreme Court and also for Judge Abner formerly of the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia circuit in the Year 1987. In the year 1991, she worked as an assistant Professor in the department of Legal studies at the University of Chicago. She graduated to the level of an associate professor of law in the year 1995. Her first publication on law was an article review on law titled” The first Amendment hate speech”.

This article mainly analyzed the consequences of the motive in government regulation of speech. She also reviewed Stephens Carter’s book in relation to judicial confirmation process (O’Connor, 2004). . She replaced James Buckley in the United States court of appeal district Of Columbia circuit after being nominated by President Clinton to the position (Holzer, 2012). After her stint at the white house, Kagan went back to academic roles once again serving as the dean in the department of law at the University of New Mexico.

She is also credited to having transformed Harvard law school from a hostile student environment to student centered environment. At the beginning of President Obama’s regime, he made an announcement that he was going to nominate Kagan to the position of the solicitor general despite the fact that she had no prior records of having argued any case before the court. In the year 2009, the senate confirmed her nomination making her the first woman to hold that position in the history of the United States.

In September the same year she made her first ever appearance before the Supreme Court. However, contentions arose in regard to the arguments she advanced in her capacity as the solicitor general. Cato institute and the first amendment centre disputed her arguments. Her nomination to the Supreme Court was a subject of great interest even before the election of President Obama to office. The media was rife with speculation of her potential nomination if a democrat president carried the day in the elections.

This was because of her position as the Solicitor general which was seen to serve as a great leverage (Toobin, 2008). However, this was not to be as Obama had nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Following the announcement of Justice Paul Stevens on his intentions to retire, speculations emerged once again on the possibility of Kagan nomination to the Supreme Court. Kagan’s