The Difference Between An Advocate & Judge

ELENA KAGAN: ‘I Want To Make A Clear Distinction Between My Views As An Advocate And Any Views That I Might Have As A Judge’

ELENA KAGAN: “I want to make a clear distinction between my views as an advocate and any views that I might have as a judge. … I also want to make clear that in any of my cases as an advocate, and this is Citizens United or any of the other cases in which I've argued, you know, I'm approaching the things -- the cases as an advocate from a perspective of first the United States government interests. And also it's a different kind of preparation process. You don't look at both sides in the way you do as a judge.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing,  6/28-30 &7/1/2010)

• KAGAN: “The solicitor general's office, of course, defends statutes as they're written… and in the solicitor general's office, we in the solicitor general's office, as other solicitor generals' offices have done, vigorously defended that statute as it was written...” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing,  6/28-30 &7/1/2010)

ELENA KAGAN: ‘I Created A Lot Of Talking Points In My Time’

ELENA KAGAN: “Senator Hatch, those -- the quote that you read, I believe, was not written by me in my voice. It was a set of talking points that I prepared for -- I'm not sure if it was for the president, for President Clinton, or if it was for the press office. But it was meant to reflect the administration's position at the time. The administration was trying very hard to enact the McCain- Feingold bill. And those talking points were in service of that objective, and so they weren't, you know, my personal constitutional or legal views, or anything like that, but was just a set of talking points that I prepared for -- I think it was for the press office. It might have been for the president himself.” SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT): “Well, you were listed as the creator.” KAGAN: “I created a lot of talking points in my time.” (LAUGHTER) (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Hearing,  6/28-30 &7/1/2010)