Supreme Court

Here is a great letter from conservative legal genius Miguel Estrada supporting Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court, even though their constitutional views differ markedly. Hat tip to How Appealing and The Volokh Conspiracy for posting about it. Estrada’s letter refers to Justice Alito’s confirmation hearings as ranging “from the anodyne and uninformative to the utterly disgraceful.” Spoken like someone who has experienced the process. Estrada himself was put through the meat-grinder when President George W. Bush nominated him to the D.C. Circuit. The White House inadequately prepared Estrada for the proceedings and then refused to mount a fight for him when the going got tough. Estrada points out that elections have consequences and the President gets to nominate judges who share his governing philosophy. True enough, but Senators have the absolute right and power to reject a judicial nominee if they disagree with her legal philosophy. I would just like to be spared the charade of another meaningless confirmation hearing. And I guess I will be spared. HGTV is highly unlikely to interrupt its programming in order to televise the proceedings.