May 10, 2010, New York – In response to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court, Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Vincent Warren issued the following statement:

“When the president nominates a woman or man to sit for life on the highest court of the land, we must look seriously at the broadest and most long-term implications seating that person will have for our country. At the Center for Constitutional Rights, we have fought at the forefront to hold back presidential overreach and the dangerous growth of executive power, particularly as it concerns torture, detention, surveillance and racial profiling, areas where the government has flouted the law most blatantly over the last decade. I am sad to say that Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s record indicates a troubling support for expanding presidential powers, something we must be vigilant about at this time. President Obama would appear to be seeking to appoint a Supreme Court Judge who will endorse his policies and appease conservatives. This is not the way to make a decision that will affect our nation for decades to come.”