SCOTUS Nominee Kagan a Cipher on Labor Issues (Updated)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5954/scotus_nominee_a_cipher_on_labor_issues/

Monday May 10 12:57 pm


President Barack Obama introduces Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his choice to be the nation's 112th Supreme Court justice during an event at the White House on Monday, May 10. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Updated with AFL-CIO President Trumka reaction

By Lindsay Beyerstein

President Obama announced Monday that he is nominating Solicitor General Elena Kagan to fill the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Labor activists and union officials will likely be left scratching their heads: Kagan's record yields few hints as to how she might rule on labor issues.

In 2009, Kagan became the first female solicitor general of the United States. To date, she has only argued a handful of cases before the Supreme Court. But Kagan did represent the U.S. government in the recent Citizens United Supreme Court case, arguing that corporations and unions should not be allowed to spend unlimited sums from their general treasuries to influence elections.

However, as Marvin Ammori argues at Balkinization, it is unclear whether Kagan's personal views match up with the case she argued on behalf of her client, the U.S. government. Ammori concludes that she may personally favor expanded speech rights for corporations. Organized labor was deeply divided over Citizens United, which Kagan and the U.S. government lost.

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, which filed a brief in favor of looser regulations on union spending to influence elections, congratulated Kagan today, saying:

Ms. Kagan is the daughter of a housing lawyer devoted to the rights of tenants and a public school teacher. We are optimistic that she will bring to the bench a full appreciation of the issues confronting working families in today's economy.


FULL story at link.