Solicitor General Elena Kagan says she doesn’t want to count her chickens. Senator Arlen Specter says he is one of her chickens.
The issue was how Kagan, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, would vote on a petition requesting that the Court hear an appeal from a decision by the Second Circuit which held that Holocaust era insurance lawsuits were preempted by Executive branch foreign policy. Specter is clearly of the opinion that Holocaust survivors should have their day in court. Kagan ducked the question, claiming that as Solicitor General, her job would likely entail opposing a petition for certiorari by the Supreme Court in the very case discussed by Specter. Video of the exchange is below.
Legislation has been introduced in the House that would allow lawsuits against insurance companies based on state law to go forward (see H.R. 4596, “Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2010″). Our previous posts on the subject can be read here and here.
Hat tip: HSF
