Kagan’s Chief Justice Slipup Has Roberts Playing Down the Job
Two justices were quick to react when Solicitor General Elena Kagan made a slipup in oral arguments yesterday on the federal government’s power to commit sexually dangerous persons.
Kagan began to address Justice Antonin Scalia as “chief,” then quickly corrected herself, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times and the Associated Press. The exchange is on page 25 of the oral arguments transcript (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog).
”Excuse me, Justice Scalia, I didn’t mean to promote you quite so quickly,” Kagan said.
At that point, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. chimed in. ”Thanks for thinking it was a promotion,” he said.
Added Scalia: “And I’m sure you didn’t.”
The BLT interprets Scalia’s comment as a suggestion that Kagan, sometimes mentioned as a possible future Supreme Court nominee, was eying his own seat.
