Democrats Flip-Flop on On Need For Experience for SCOTUS Justices

Judiciary Committee Democrat Said Three Weeks Ago That To Have A “Strong Judiciary” Judges Needed To Be “In The Arena” Or “Been Judges Before” But Today She Does Not Express The Same Concern For Kagan’s Lack Of Experience

TODAYSEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “Now, Even With The Variety Of Legal Experiences That You Have Had, Questions Have Been Raised As To Whether It Is Appropriate To Nominate Someone To The Supreme Court Who Has Never Been A Judge Before.” (Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate, Hearing, 6/28/10)

THREE WEEKS AGOSEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “[I]f We Just Put Judges On The Court That Have Handled No Difficult Cases, That Haven’t Been In The Arena, Or People Who Have Never Been Judges Before And So They Didn’t Have Those Difficult Decisions, I Don’t Think We’d Have A Strong Judiciary.” (Judiciary Committee, Executive Business Meeting, 6/10/10)

KAGAN HAS FAR LESS EXPERIENCE IN PRIVATE PRACTICE THAN OTHER NOMINEES WITHOUT JUDICIAL EXPERIENCEJustices Without Judicial Experience Had An Average Of 20.5 Years In Private Practice.(Congressional Research Service, 6/15/10)
Justice Byron White Was In Private Practice For 14 Years.(Federal Judicial Center Website, Accessed 6/16/10)
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Was In Private Practice For 16 Years(Federal Judicial Center Website, Accessed 6/16/10)
Justice Robert Jackson Was In Private Practice For 21 Years.(Federal Judicial Center Website, Accessed 6/16/10)
Justice Louis Brandeis Was In Private Practice For 38 Years.(Federal Judicial Center Website, Accessed 6/16/10)
Justice Lewis Powell Was In Private Practice For 39 Years.(Federal Judicial Center Website, Accessed 6/16/10)
“[Kagan] Spent Two Years As A Litigator At Williams & Connolly LLP In Washington.” (“Elena Kagan Selected By Obama For U.S. Supreme Court,” Bloomberg, 5/10/10)
POLITIFACT: “It’s Fair To Say That Kagan Has Spent The Bulk Of Her Professional Career In Academia At The University Of Chicago And Harvard Law School, And At Various Positions Inside The Beltway. … [Sen. John] Cornyn's claim that Kagan ‘has spent her entire professional career in Harvard Square, Hyde Park and the D.C. Beltway’ is True.” (“Republicans Say Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan Is A Product Of Harvard Square, Hyde Park And The D.C. Beltway,” PolitiFact, 5/10/10)

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