President Barack Obama's longtime legal mentor and current administration adviser has admitted privately telling him that Justice Sonia Sotomayor was "not nearly as smart as she seems to think she is."
CNN's Kate Bolduan reports on the real-world stakes for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy.
"You are not my people." That was Elena Kagan's blunt but light-hearted declaration when she greeted conservative legal minds meeting at Harvard's prestigious law school in 2005.
As a young working mother in the the early 1980s, Diane Wood, like many of her generation, struggled to balance work and family.
The White House has begun finalizing its list of potential nominees for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy, with many senior administration officials privately urging the president to name someone with a proven, "reliable" liberal record, according to sources closely involved in the selection process.
President Obama has been privately reaching out this week to candidates for the Supreme Court vacancy, an administration source told CNN on Tuesday.
The White House has begun quiet preparations for the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy in coming months, government sources tell CNN.
In picking Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama has confirmed that identity politics matter to him more than merit. While Judge Sotomayor exemplifies the American Dream, she would not have even been on the short list if she were not Hispanic.
The White House is quietly expanding its list of Hispanic candidates for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy, sources close to the selection process tell CNN.
Things really have changed with the Obama presidency -- starting with the process for nominating a Supreme Court justice.
In a Washington that pays homage to bipartisanship but never quite gets there, the prospect of a new Supreme Court battle only gets the partisan juices flowing.
Few issues rally conservatives as much as a Supreme Court nomination -- and activists are wasting no time gearing up for a battle.
In Washington and throughout the nation's legal system, speculation took off Friday over who may join the Supreme Court after the retirement of Justice David Souter.