8/5/10

Is Elena Kagan Talmudic?

Mazal tov to Elena Kagan on her confirmation to the Supreme Court, which is a done deal.

Yes, Kagan is a Jew. David E. Y. Sarna argues in an article at Tablet ("Elena Kagan, Jewish law, and the principle of binding precedent") that she is also a jurist in the Talmudic tradition. He assembles some solid evidence to make that case beginning with his assertion,
...a third issue was raised at the hearings, and no one spoke of its Jewish antecedents. The elephant in the room was stare decisis (“let the decision stand” in legal Latin). It means refraining from overturning settled matters, regarding them as binding precedent. As we shall see, the controversy over stare decisis has a long history and dates back to the development of Jewish Law, known in Hebrew as halacha. Interestingly, the Justice’s position in this regard accords with halacha...more...

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