Elena Kagan: A Journey Through Education, Law, and the Supreme Court

Elena Kagan's path to becoming an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court is a testament to her sharp intellect, dedication to the rule of law, and ability to build consensus. From her early education in New York City to her deanship at Harvard Law School and her eventual appointment to the highest court in the nation, Kagan's journey is marked by academic excellence, public service, and a commitment to shaping American jurisprudence.

Early Life and Education

Born in New York, New York, on April 28, 1960, Elena Kagan is the daughter of Robert Kagan, a lawyer, and Gloria Gittelman Kagan, an elementary school teacher. Her upbringing in Manhattan instilled in her a strong sense of independence and a keen interest in American history. Kagan's family lived in a third-floor apartment at West End Avenue and 75th Street. She attended Lincoln Square Synagogue. Even in her youth, Kagan displayed a strong will and independent spirit, leading to negotiations with her Orthodox rabbi, Shlomo Riskin, regarding her bat mitzvah.

Hunter College High School

Kagan attended Hunter College High School, a prestigious institution known for attracting outstanding students from across New York City. There, she distinguished herself as a top student, serving as president of the student government and participating in a student-faculty consultative committee.

Princeton University

In 1977, Kagan arrived at Princeton University, where she pursued her passion for American history and archival research. She excelled academically, graduating summa cum laude in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. Her senior thesis, "To the Final Conflict: Socialism in New York City, 1900-1933," explored the internal conflicts that led to the decline of the Socialist Party. During a University event in 2014, Kagan said Princeton compelled her to think of issues and problems in different ways. "I had fantastic professors who were so generous with their time," she said. "Whatever I know about writing, I learned here."

Beyond academics, Kagan was actively involved in campus life. She served as editorial chair of The Daily Princetonian, where she demonstrated her writing skills and leadership abilities. Along with eight other students, she penned a "Declaration of the Campaign for a Democratic University," advocating for a restructuring of university governance and criticizing the administration's decision-making processes.

Oxford University

After graduating from Princeton, Kagan was awarded the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, a prestigious fellowship that allowed her to study at Worcester College, Oxford University. There, she earned an M. Phil. in 1983. Her thesis explored "The Development and Erosion of the American Exclusionary Rule: A Study in Judicial Method".

Harvard Law School

Returning to the United States, Kagan entered Harvard Law School in 1983. Initially, she found the atmosphere challenging, receiving her lowest grades during her first semester. However, she quickly adapted and excelled, earning an A in 17 of the 21 courses she took. She became a supervisory editor of the Harvard Law Review, further honing her legal skills and analytical abilities. She graduated in 1986 with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.

Early Career and Legal Academia

After law school, Kagan clerked for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1986 to 1987. She then served as a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1987 Term. These clerkships provided her with invaluable experience in the judicial system and exposed her to diverse legal perspectives.

Following her clerkships, Kagan worked as an associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Williams & Connolly, LLP, from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, she transitioned to academia, becoming an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School. She became a tenured professor of law in 1995. During her time at the University of Chicago, she met Barack Obama, who was then a guest lecturer at the school.

During her time as a professor, Kagan published several articles, including one on the regulation of First Amendment hate speech in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul.

Service in the Clinton Administration

In 1995, Kagan's career took a turn toward public service when she joined the Clinton administration as associate counsel to President Clinton. From 1995 to 1999, she served in the White House, first as associate counsel to the president and then as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, and deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council. She worked on a range of issues, including budget appropriations, campaign finance reform, and social welfare policies.

In 1999, President Clinton nominated Kagan to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. However, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republican Chairman, Orrin Hatch, scheduled no hearing, effectively ending her nomination.

Return to Academia and Deanship at Harvard Law School

After her service in the White House and her lapsed judicial nomination, Kagan returned to academia in 1999. She initially sought to return to the University of Chicago, but she had given up her tenured position during her extended stint in the Clinton Administration, and the school chose not to rehire her, reportedly due to doubts about her commitment to academia.

Kagan quickly found a position as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School. In 2001, she was named a full professor, and in 2003, she became the 11th Dean of Harvard Law School, succeeding Robert C. Clark. As dean, Kagan focused on improving student satisfaction, reforming the first-year curriculum, and constructing new facilities. She inherited a $400 million capital campaign, "Setting the Standard," in 2003, which ultimately raised a record-breaking $476 million by 2008.

Kagan also made a number of prominent new hires, increasing the size of the faculty considerably. During her deanship, Kagan upheld a decades-old policy barring military recruiters from the Office of Career Services because she felt the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy discriminated against gays and lesbians.

Solicitor General of the United States

In 2009, President Obama nominated Kagan as the 45th Solicitor General of the United States. She was confirmed by the Senate on March 19, 2009, becoming the first woman to hold the position. As Solicitor General, Kagan was responsible for representing the federal government before the Supreme Court.

Kagan's first appearance before the Supreme Court as Solicitor General was on September 9, 2009, in the re-argument of Citizens United v. During her 15 months as Solicitor General, Kagan argued six cases before the Supreme Court, helping to win four of them.

Appointment to the Supreme Court

On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Kagan to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy arising from the impending retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens. Her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began on June 28, 2010.

During the hearings, Kagan demonstrated a deep knowledge of Supreme Court cases and a commitment to impartiality. While she declined to answer questions about how she would vote on particular issues, she promised to be fair and open-minded.

On July 20, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 to recommend Kagan's confirmation to the full Senate. Her swearing-in ceremony took place on August 7, 2010, at the White House, where she became the 112th justice (100th associate justice) of the Supreme Court. She is the first person appointed to the Court without any prior experience as a judge since William Rehnquist and Lewis F.

Tenure on the Supreme Court

Since joining the Supreme Court, Kagan has established herself as a thoughtful and influential justice. Because of her service as solicitor general, Kagan recused herself from 28 out of the 78 cases heard during her first year on the Court to avoid conflicts of interest. Kagan's first opinion as a justice, Ransom v. FIA Card Services, was in a statutory interpretation case. Kagan's first dissent came in a First Amendment case, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v.

In Cooper v. Harris (2017), Kagan upheld a district court’s ruling that North Carolina’s redistricting after the census of 2010 was unconstitutional because it amounted to a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), Kagan and her two liberal colleagues, justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor, coauthored a dissenting opinion in which the Court’s conservative majority eliminated the constitutional right to abortion by overturning two landmark Court decisions, Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992).

In Loper Bright Enterprises v. v. In her dissenting opinion, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson, Kagan argued that Chevron deference is reasonable and reflects-and best serves-the intentions of Congress when it passes legislation that is later determined to be ambiguous or unclear.

Recognition and Awards

Throughout her career, Elena Kagan has received numerous accolades for her legal acumen and public service. Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 praised Kagan as "a blazing legal intellect who has dedicated herself to the rule of law at every stage of her formidable career." In recognition of her achievements, Princeton University will bestow the Woodrow Wilson Award upon Kagan on Alumni Day.

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