The move positions the court to have one female justices for the first time in history.
President Barack Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the president's thinking said Sunday night.
Known as sharp & politically savvy, Kagan has led a blazing legal career: first female dean of Harvard Law School, first woman to serve as the top Supreme Court lawyer for any administration, & now first in Obama's mind to succeed legendary Justice John Paul Stevens.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been made public. Obama will announce his choice at 10 a.m. Monday in the East Room of the White House.
At 50 years elderly, Kagan would be the youngest justice on the court, one of plenty of factors working in her favor. He's the chance to extend Obama's legacy for a generation.
Kagan has clerked for Thurgood Marshall, worked for Bill Clinton & earned a stellar reputation as a student, teacher & manager of the elite academic world. Her standing has risen in Obama's eyes as his government's lawyer before the high court over the last year.
Yet Kagan would be the first justice without judicial experience in 40 years. All of the one other finalists he beat out for the job are federal appeals court judges, & all nine of the current justices served on the federal bench before being elevated.
Kagan's fate will be up to a Senate dominated by Democrats, who with 59 votes have over to confirm her, even though they are one shy of being to halt any Republican stalling work.
For the second straight summer, the nation can expected an intense Supreme Court confirmation debate even though, barring a surprise, Kagan is likely to emerge as a justice.
