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Elena Kagan

Elena Kagan

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Appears in 4 stories

Born: April 28, 1960 (age 65 years), Upper West Side, New York, NY
Previous offices: Solicitor General of the United States (2009–2010) and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council of United States (1997–1999)
Books: We Dissent: Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan on Dobbs V. Jackson, the Supreme Court's Decision Banning Abortion
Education: Harvard Law School (1986), Worcester College (1983), Princeton University (1981), and more
Parents: Robert Kagan and Gloria Kagan

Notable Quotes

“Once again, this Court uses its emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency, as established by Congress.” — Kagan dissenting from the CPSC order.

She has warned that the majority’s actions may “facilitate the permanent transfer of authority, piece by piece by piece, from one branch of Government to another.”

"His suit to enjoin the ordinance, so he can return to the amphitheater, may proceed." — Opinion of the Court

Stories

Trump’s unitary-executive showdown with independent agencies

Rule Changes

Leading liberal critic of the Court’s use of the shadow docket to expand presidential removal power

In 2025, President Donald Trump challenged the 1935 Humphrey's Executor precedent by firing and removing independent agency officials before their terms expired.

Updated 6 days ago

Supreme Court weighs the future of the Voting Rights Act in Louisiana v. Callais

Rule Changes

Wrote the principal Callais dissent, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965—the main federal tool minority voters have used for four decades to challenge racially discriminatory maps—now requires plaintiffs to prove intentional discrimination before courts can order a remedy. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion; Justice Elena Kagan dissented for the three liberal justices, writing that the ruling makes Section 2 'all but a dead letter' and marks 'the latest chapter in the majority's now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.' On May 4, the Court ordered its judgment to take effect immediately, bypassing the usual 25-day window for rehearing requests; on May 6, it denied civil rights plaintiffs' motion to recall the ruling, making the decision final and operative.

Updated May 7

Supreme Court clears path for convicted speakers to challenge speech-restricting ordinances

Rule Changes

Wrote the unanimous opinion

For three decades, a legal rule called the Heck bar let cities enforce questionable speech ordinances with near-impunity: once someone was convicted under such a law, they effectively lost the ability to challenge it in federal court. On March 20, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that this shield doesn't apply when the person is simply asking a court to stop future enforcement — not to undo a past conviction.

Updated Mar 20

Private prison companies face wave of forced-labor lawsuits from immigration detainees

Rule Changes

Authored the majority opinion in GEO Group v. Menocal

For more than a decade, private prison operator GEO Group has fought to avoid a trial over allegations that roughly 60,000 immigration detainees at its Aurora, Colorado facility were forced to perform janitorial work for one dollar a day — or nothing at all — under threat of solitary confinement. On February 25, the United States Supreme Court shut down GEO's last procedural escape route, ruling 9-0 that the company cannot claim government-contractor immunity to skip ahead of a final verdict. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that GEO "must wait" for trial before appealing.

Updated Feb 26