CNN 2010-05-14

Very smart and very skilled that building consensus 1. Two traits not listed on Kagan's resume, but they're sure won't hurt her chances of confirmation 2. CNN's Kate Bolduan has a closer look.

Elena Kagan, here congratulating retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on his long and distinguished 3 career.

If you ever argue before the Supreme 4 Court, beware, underlying 5 Justice Stevens' extraordinary politeness, extraordinary courtesy, danger awaits.

Now, the Solicitor 6 General could fill the very seat Justice Stevens is vacating at the end of this term.

Thank you, Justice Stevens.

A 50-year-old New York City native, Kagan is a former dean of Harvard Law School where she also received her law degree. She worked in the Clinton White House and is currently the federal government's top lawyer before the Supreme Court. She's argued six cases herself since taking over the job in 2009. During confirmation hearings for that position, some senators were skeptical 7 Kagan had the necessary experience because she's never been a judge and had at that point never argued a case before the Supreme Court or any court for that matter.

How are you gonna handle that? And how are you gonna prepare yourself?

I'm very confident that I'm up to this part of the job as I am to all the many other parts. I think I bring up a lifetime of learning and study of the law and particularly of the constitutional and administrative 8 law issues that form the core of the court's docket. I think I bring up some of the communications skills that have made me, I'm just going to say, a famously, excellent teacher.

Kate Bolduan joining us now from outside the Supreme Court. So, Kate, how unusual is it for a Supreme Court justice to have zero experience as a judge?

It is unusual, and I think, it is some 40 years since the last time that this has happened, and really, it cuts both ways. While some will say that they are concerned about her thin judicial 9 record because liberals will say that they want to make sure she is a reliable liberal. Everyone is very clear that she is a Democrat 10 with a big "D," but the question, this is a nomination 11. You can't take this job back, Kyra, you know that. President Obama wants to be very sure, and liberals, especially, want to be very sure that whoever gets on that court, they can rely on to be a reliable liberal. You'll hear that a little bit more, but at the same time, as they said, it cuts the other way. Her limited paper trail also offers much less for conservative critics to go through to try to view through and look at, you know, what she said on the record. So, they could also work in her favor in that regard.