4/11/2016, 12:57 pm
[img]/images/SCOTUS_Diversity_Volleyball.jpg[/img]
Washington, DC - Echoing earlier statements by Justice Sotomayor who complained of a lack of diversity on the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan today suggested that President Obama nominate a Czech women's volleyball player to replace deceased Justice Antonin Scalia.
Speaking to a crowd at George Washington University, Kagan observed that “[t]he Court is comprised totally of middle aged-to-elderly Americans, and there's not a looker among them. I truly believe that a Czech volleyball player could bring valuable new perspectives to our jurisprudence, and she would be exactly what is needed to change the low opinion that Americans have of the Court. And because diversity.”
Acknowledging that Supreme Court appointments are made by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Justice Kagan conceded that it “doesn't necessarily have to be a volleyball player. A Czech, or even a Hungarian, tennis player would serve diversity as well. I think what's really important to increase diversity is that she be young, blonde, and athletic.”
A spokesman for Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office commented that “Senator McConnell was a bit taken aback by what appears to be a brilliant suggestion by one of the Court's most liberal justices. He has already reached out to President Obama, and to members of the Senate, to gauge the possibility of fast-tracking such a nominee.”
While the Supreme Court's conservative bloc of justices, John Roberts, Jr., Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, Jr. joined with Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer in support of Kagan's remarks, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
Writing for the minority, Justice Sotomayor noted, “It's always about physical appearance with Elena. She has never been able to see the beauty within. Her loss.”
Washington, DC - Echoing earlier statements by Justice Sotomayor who complained of a lack of diversity on the Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan today suggested that President Obama nominate a Czech women's volleyball player to replace deceased Justice Antonin Scalia.
Speaking to a crowd at George Washington University, Kagan observed that “[t]he Court is comprised totally of middle aged-to-elderly Americans, and there's not a looker among them. I truly believe that a Czech volleyball player could bring valuable new perspectives to our jurisprudence, and she would be exactly what is needed to change the low opinion that Americans have of the Court. And because diversity.”
Acknowledging that Supreme Court appointments are made by the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, Justice Kagan conceded that it “doesn't necessarily have to be a volleyball player. A Czech, or even a Hungarian, tennis player would serve diversity as well. I think what's really important to increase diversity is that she be young, blonde, and athletic.”
A spokesman for Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office commented that “Senator McConnell was a bit taken aback by what appears to be a brilliant suggestion by one of the Court's most liberal justices. He has already reached out to President Obama, and to members of the Senate, to gauge the possibility of fast-tracking such a nominee.”
While the Supreme Court's conservative bloc of justices, John Roberts, Jr., Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, Jr. joined with Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer in support of Kagan's remarks, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
Writing for the minority, Justice Sotomayor noted, “It's always about physical appearance with Elena. She has never been able to see the beauty within. Her loss.”
