US President Barack Obama will nominate Solicitor-General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, US media reports say.
US President Barack Obama has nominated Solicitor-General Elena Kagan as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court.
The White House has not yet commented, but Mr Obama is scheduled to announce his choice at 1000 (1400 GMT).
Ms Kagan, a 50-year-old former Harvard Law School dean, was at Mr Obama's side at the White House when he announced, as expected, that she was his pick.
If confirmed, she would be the youngest member and third woman on the current court as well as the first justice in many years not to have been a judge.
She would be the youngest member and third woman on the current court as well as the first justice in many years not to have been a judge.
The 50-year-old former dean of Harvard Law School has spent much of her professional life in academia.
The Senate will confirm if she replaces retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
BIOGRAPHY: ELENA KAGAN Born 28 April, 1960; grew up in New York CityLike President Obama, served on the Harvard Law ReviewWorked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood MarshallServed in the Clinton administration 1995-1999Appointed Dean of Harvard Law School in 2003Confirmed as US solicitor general March 2009
Mr Obama said Ms Kagan - who has spent much of her professional life in academia - would bring excellence, independence, integrity and passion to the post.
Early in her career she was a clerk for a US Court of Appeals judge and later for former Justice Thurgood Marshall. And like Mr Obama, she worked on the prestigious Harvard Law Review as a student.
Early in her career she was a clerk for a US Court of Appeals judge and later for former Justice Thurgood Marshall.
The president was forced to choose a nominee due to the retirement of one of the Supreme Court's leading liberals, John Paul Stevens.
And like Mr Obama, she worked on the prestigious Harvard Law Review as a student.
Non-ideological writings
As solicitor-general, Ms Kagan was already well known, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington.
The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says that as solicitor-general, Ms Kagan is already well known and she went through a fairly smooth confirmation process in the Senate for her current job this year.
She went through a fairly smooth confirmation process in the Senate for her current job this year.
There had been speculation for some time that she was Mr Obama's preferred choice and her appointment would maintain the current political balance of the Supreme Court, he says.
Although regarded as a liberal on most issues, she has worked with conservatives and has even attracted a liberal backlash against her support for continuing Bush administration policies on state secrets and the use of military commissions to try terrorism suspects, our correspondent adds.
Her staunch advocacy of gay rights may concern Republicans, who have also expressed concerns about her lack of judicial experience. She would also be questioned as to whether she was qualified.
Ms Kagan's academic writings are largely non-ideological, and she would have no paper trail of judicial opinions available for scrutiny.
With 59 votes, Senate Democrats would have enough to confirm her, but they would be one short of being able to halt blocking or stalling tactics by any Republican senators. When she was confirmed as solicitor-general, only seven Republicans backed her.
Our correspondent says that selection of a Supreme Court justice gives a president the opportunity to influence US public life for decades, as the justices are not bound by term limits.
