Printable Version

Rights/Reprints

Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) (gov)

Arlen Spector (D-Pa.) called on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to make her hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee meaningful — unlike her earlier description of the process as a “vapid” and “hollow” charade — and pressed the nominee to respond to questions on what cases she would hear on the court.

“The court, regrettably, has become an ideological battleground,” he said.

Spector said he saw the Constitution “change almost daily” during the 1960s, and expressed his hope that, if confirmed, Kagan would espouse a moderate worldview.

He also voiced his intent to question the nominee on what case she would vote to hear before the court as a justice.

“It has been accepted that there should not be a transgression into the area of judicial independence on how a case would be decided,” he said, referring to ban on requiring nominees to speak on how they might rule on issues. “[But the ban] leaves the judge, at least so far as that standard [of what cases will be heard] is concerned, the latitude to answer that question”