WASHINGTON –– Three of the leading candidates reportedly being considered to replace the retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens all have had or do have ties to the Justice Department and two are Jewish, according to media reports.
Elena Kagan, 49, the U.S. Solicitor General, the fourth highest ranking post at the Justice Department, is Jewish and Diane Pamela Wood, 59, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge in Chicago, is Jewish, AP reported. Wood worked for the Justice Department in different posts including deputy assistant attorney general for international, appellate and policy matters for the Antitrust Division.
The third candidate Merrick B. Garland, 57, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge in D.C., worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney General and went into private practice before returning to the government as an assistant U.S. Attorney in D.C. He later went on to work as a deputy assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department’s criminal division and was then principal associate deputy U.S. attorney general before going on the bench.
Other candidates mentioned include Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit in the 1990s.
Another person mentioned is Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who was an assistant Attorney General for civil rights under the Clinton administration, according to AP.
Currently, two Justices on the Supreme Court — Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer — are Jewish
