Conservative friends voice support for high-court nominee

May 15, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Conservative lawyers and academics are voicing support for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, praise that could soften criticism from the right and provide cover for any Republican senators inclined to vote for her nomination.

The essence of their take on Kagan, the former Harvard Law School dean who now serves as solicitor general, is that she clearly has the smarts to be a justice and has shown an ability to work with all sides on thorny issues.

“She has had a remarkable and truly unusual record of reaching out across ideological divides,” said Michael McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge who was nominated by President George W. Bush.

Longtime friend Miguel Estrada, whose appeals-court nomination by Bush was blocked by Senate Democrats, said, “She’s clearly qualified for the court and should be confirmed. Obviously, she’s a left-of-center academic who never would have been picked by a Republican. But no one can doubt her intellectual accomplishments.”

Former special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, who ran the investigation that led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, said charges by some conservatives that Kagan holds extreme views are off-base.