"Shorty" ( published 5/20)

With the nomination of Elena "Shorty" Kagan to the Supreme Court, I think it prudent to remind everyone of the mistake that resulted in the unfortunate confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

The U.S. Supreme Court is like no other court in the world. In fact, calling it a court is somewhat confusing, because there are no findings of guilt or innocence. Its only charge is to determine whether the law applied in a lower court decision was constitutional. In that regard, it must be a matter of complete indifference to the Justices which side won or lost in the original case, but only if the decision arrived at was constitutional.

Therefore, in selecting Supreme Court Justices, the only salient issues are the nominee's knowledge of, and respect for, the Constitution. With Justice Sotomayor, the issues of race, gender, and her alleged superiority to white males were irrelevant. Similarly, when the AP, Tuesday, called the Court "fractured" and suggested it could, as the President improperly believes, be repaired by "someone who could counter the court's conservative leaders," that is not a valid consideration.

Let us hope that Ms Kagan believes, as she has said, that the Court allows "all Americans, regardless of their background or their beliefs, to get a fair hearing and an equal chance at justice," because the essence of "fair" is only that which is specified in that Constitution which the President disrespects.