This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8671668.stm

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Obama names Supreme Court choice Obama names Supreme Court choice
(9 minutes later)
US President Barack Obama has nominated Solicitor-General Elena Kagan as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court.US President Barack Obama has nominated Solicitor-General Elena Kagan as the 112th justice to the Supreme Court.
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.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.
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 Senate will confirm if she replaces retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Republicans warned she would not receive rubber-stamp approval.
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. The Senate must confirm whether the nominee - who has spent much of her professional life in academia - can replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, said that her "brief litigation experience" would be reviewed.
Mr Obama said Ms Kagan would bring excellence, independence, integrity and passion to the post.
The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says Ms Kagan is regarded as a liberal on most issues.
But she has worked with conservatives and 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.
She went through a fairly smooth confirmation process in the Senate for her current job this year, when seven Republicans voted for her.
Early in her career she was a clerk for a US Court of Appeals judge and later for former Justice Thurgood Marshall.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.And like Mr Obama, she worked on the prestigious Harvard Law Review as a student.
As solicitor-general, Ms Kagan was already well known, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Washington.
She went through a fairly smooth confirmation process in the Senate for her current job this year.