WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Thursday confirmed Elena Kagan as the newest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Senate voted 63-37 in favor of the nomination, making Kagan, 50, the third woman sitting on the current court and the fourth woman ever confirmed to the nation's highest bench.
Republicans had objected to Kagan's lack of judicial experience and expressed fears that because of her political background would be an activist judge.
Supporters, however, described Kagan as a brilliant lawyer.
"Today we will send to our highest court another brilliant lawyer from Massachusetts, Elena Kagan, someone whose respect for the rule of law is matched only by her appreciation for how those laws concern the daily lives of the people they govern," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in casting his vote.
She replaces Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired at the end of the last term and she is the second justice President Barack Obama has named to the court. UPI
