Yesterday, Elena Kagan was sworn into the Supreme Court, becoming its 112th Justice and its fourth female justice. The judicial oath, which she took in front of family, new colleagues, and TV audiences, says, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God." more ›

Now the United States Supreme Court will only be a two-thirds sausage fest: The Senate voted, 63-37, to confirm U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan to take Justice John Paul Stevens' seat. When she is officially sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts, there will be three women—Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayors are the others— on the Court at the same time for the first time. And all of the women hail from New York! more ›

On Monday evening, State Senator Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), who is also one of the many Democratic candidates for NY Attorney General, left NY1's studios at the Chelsea Market in a car driven by a staffer, Rachel Kagan (who happens to be Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's niece!). Apparently the car hit a minivan owned by NY1 Executive Editor Melissa Rabinovich—and she only found out who hit her car because a bicyclist witnessed the accident and took down Schneiderman's car's license plate. more ›

Today Senator Patrick Leahy announced that confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Elena Kagan will begin Monday, June 28th. According to the AP, "the schedule should allow the hearings to be completed before senators go home for a weeklong break in early July," thus enabling a vote before they adjourn for August recess. Of course, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee quickly issued a statement questioning whether the time frame "will be adequate to allow us to meet our important constitutional responsibility to thoroughly review Ms. Kagan's record on behalf of the American people." But assuming Republicans can't postpone this indefinitely, what are Kagan's odds? more ›

In his Huffington Post column, former mayor Ed Koch has blasted the White House for responding to inquiries about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's sexual orientation. According to Koch, the White House should never have dignified such questions with an answer, and instead ought to have denounced the speculation. "By denying she is lesbian instead of denouncing the inquiry, the White House is implicitly stating sexual orientation is a legitimate issue of discussion in the confirmation process," writes Koch. more ›

Park Slope lesbians might like her, and Republicans might like her enough to not fillibuster her, but that doesn't mean everyone is a fan of Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan. Some 9/11 family members are accusing Kagan of helping squash a lawsuit accusing the Saudi royals of helping finance the 9/11 attacks. more ›

Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) said on "Face the Nation" last night that he doesn't believe the GOP will attempt to filibuster Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan. He said on the program, "The filibuster should be relegated to the extreme circumstances, and I don't think Elena Kagan will represent that." However, that won't stop them from believing she "violated the law"! more ›

It's been two days since the Wall Street Journal ran this front-page photo of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan playing softball, and people are still asking: Was the photo intended as innuendo suggesting Kagan is a lesbian? Some lesbian activists think so, and they've pegged the paper as homophobic. And the Journal isn't exactly bending over backwards to apologize. But a deeper question lingers: does softball = lesbian? more ›

A close friend of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan has come forward to dispel rumors that Obama's pick to replace John Paul Stevens is a lesbian. In an interview with Politico, Sarah Walzer, Kagan’s roommate in law school and a close friend since then, says: more ›

The Times, the Washington Post, (and, to a smaller degree, the Daily News) have published extreme close-ups on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan today. Here are some fun facts for your Kagan-related cocktail party chitchat: more ›

Today President Obama announced his nomination to replace John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court: Current Solicitor General Elena Kagan. In his speech, Obama said the 50-year-old Upper West Side native is "widely regarded as one of the nation's foremost legal minds. She's an acclaimed legal scholar with a rich understanding of constitutional law. She is a former White House aide, with a life-long commitment to public service and a firm grasp of the nexus and boundaries between our three branches of government." (Watch below.) But Republican Senators made it immediately clear that they would not rubber stamp Obama's nominee. more ›

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says president Obama is close to picking his Supreme Court nominee. Manhattan's Elena Kagan, the Solicitor General of the United States, is still the rumored front-runner to replace Justice John Paul Stevens, even though public record of her legal opinions has been limited. Obama has interviewed at least four candidates including Kagan, and one White House spokesman said, "We're ready to go when the President says he's ready to go, but as of right now he has not told me, (senior adviser David) Axelrod or Gibbs that he's made a decision." more ›