"Kagan has finally found a standing Supreme Court decision she's willing to publicly denounce."

[Pirate Smile]

Kagan skewers Japanese internment ruling

July 09, 2010
Categories:Supreme Court.Kagan skewers Japanese internment ruling

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has finally found a standing Supreme Court decision she's willing to publicly denounce.
During her confirmation hearings last week, she swatted away dozens of questions seeking to elicit her views on recent Supreme Court rulings. However, in written responses submitted Friday to questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kagan said she's no fan of the Supreme Court's decision during World War II upholding the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans.

Asked by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to "name the most poorly reasoned Supreme Court case, in your view, of the last fifty years," Kagan demurred but said if she was allowed to reach back a bit further she'd point to Korematsu as one ruling where the court erred.

"I do not think it would be appropriate for me to grade recent decisions of the Supreme Court, as the status of those cases as precedent and their application to new factual circumstances are issues that may come before the Court. One relatively recent decision (although not in the last 50 years) that was poorly reasoned and that is unlikely to come before the Court again is Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944)," Kagan wrote in her reply.

Korematsu was decided by a vote of 6 to 3, with Justice Hugo Black writing the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Harlan Stone, and Justices Stanley Reed, William Douglas, Wiley Rutledge and Felix Frankfurter. Despite POLITICO's best efforts, none could be reached today to defend their opinion. But Kagan's view is sure to provoke a response from Michelle Malkin.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0710/Kagan_skewers_Japanese_internment_ruling.html?showall

[villager]

1. Surprised she didn't mention Dred Scott, as the only "safe" one to be against...

n/t

[notadmblnd]

2. She done good with that answer

she played it safe and cited a case that no one on the current bench had a part in deciding while still referring to the latest travesty of finding corporations have the same rights of people.

[n2doc]

3. My vote goes to Bush V. Gore

But I'm biased that way.

[rhett o rick]

4. I agree. There shouldnt be any question on that case. nm