Kagan Only Justice to Experience 8-Member Court

ByKimberly Robinson, Bloomberg BNA

The most junior U.S. Supreme Court justice — Elena Kagan — is “the only member of the Court to have experienced an extended vacancy” there, according to UCLA Law’sAdam Winkler.

Kagan was a clerk from 1987 to 1988, when Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.'s seat — eventually filled by current-Justice Anthony M. Kennedy — sat vacant for nearly eight months.

With the current potential for a long vacancy looming, that experience could give Kagan unique insight into how the court can go forward with a thin bench.

“Kagan can be a voice ...