Justice Elena Kagan Trivia Quiz

Answer: Her rabbi about her bat mitzvah

Kagan was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family and she often complained to her rabbi that the synagogue was putting on extravagant affairs for boys at their bar mitzvah but not for girls at their bat mitzvah. Kagan's stubbornness succeeded and she was the first girl given a formal ceremony at her synagogue.

Answer: Felix Frankfurter

Felix Frankfurter was one of the founders of the ACLU in 1920. He was appointed to the Court in 1939 by Franklin Roosevelt. Frankfurter notably turned down Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a clerkship. He also occupied the traditional "Jewish seat" on the Supreme Court, although Elena Kagan, also Jewish, occupied a different seat.

Answer: Thurgood Marshall

1988 was one of the last years Marshall was on the Court and it has been said that Kagan, who he affectionately called Shorty, was one of his favorite clerks. Like Marshall, Kagan was also appointed to the Supreme Court after serving as Solicitor General. They both also espoused traditionally liberal judicial philosophy.

Answer: The First Amendment

Kagan argued that cases involving conduct-based speech such as United States v. O'Brien should be looked at again. The Court in that case upheld a conviction of a man who burned his draft card during the Vietnam War. The Court said that the act was not protected free speech because it interfered with the government's effort to conduct the draft.

Kagan, in her articles, argued the Court was giving too much deference to the government and was ignoring the speech rights of everyday people. Kagan noted that while the government does have the right to act as necessary toward whatever goal, the people still have the right to oppose and speak out against the government.

Answer: Bill Clinton's term expired as did her nomination

She was nominated in June 1999 but the Republican-controlled Senate delayed her hearing and Sen. Orrin Hatch, who chaired the Judiciary Committee, never scheduled her for testimony. Her nomination expired when Bill Clinton left office in January 2001.

Answer: Dean of Harvard Law School

Kagan wanted to return to her original teaching position at the University of Chicago but was not hired back. She instead accepted a position at Harvard and within two years became the law school's first female dean. She was considered a successful dean and is credited with breaking the rigidity and discomfort students often felt on campus.

It has been said she transformed the law school to focus on the students' needs.

Answer: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Kagan argued that the government had the right to regulate and limit campaign expenditures spent by third parties to preserve the integrity of the election system and American democracy. The Supreme Court disagreed on First Amendment claims. As Solicitor General, Kagan was criticized for often taking positions that later lost at the Supreme Court (this includes cases she did not argue).

Some of these positions were banning military recruiters from college campuses and banning pictures of animal cruelty.

Answer: Richard Lugar

All four of those senators were Republicans who voted for confirmation (Judd Gregg was the other). However, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar paid the price. He was long considered a moderate and a Republican ally of President Obama's. His primary challenger in 2012, Richard Murdoch, criticized him for many things including this confirmation vote. He went on to lose the primary campaign.

Commentators in the political world noted that Kagan's confirmation underlined the intense political divisions in the United States as a whole and within the Republican Party. 63 votes in favor of confirmation was a historically low number, though by far not the lowest. She received near unanimous support from Democrats and only as few votes from moderate Republicans. Her vote also closely mirrored a lot of Senate votes at the time when Democrats would have to rely on mostly the same Republicans to avoid a filibuster.

Answer: Antonin Scalia

Kagan ruled that a man who filed for bankruptcy could not consider his car expenses as necessary monthly expenses. Scalia disagreed with the interpretation of bankruptcy law. By all accounts, Scalia and Kagan were good friends and went hunting together.

After Scalia's death, David Axelrod, one of President Obama's advisors, claimed Scalia recommended to him that Obama should appoint Kagan to the Court. This came as surprise as the Scalia and Kagan held completely different judicial philosophies.

Answer: Comic books

The case was Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC. The case involved patent laws and royalties. However, Kagan livened up her opinion by adding many different comic book references and quotes. She has also quoted Dr. Seuss in Supreme Court opinions as well.