Witnesses testify on Kagan nomination

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WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- Outside witnesses had a chance Thursday to weigh in on President Barack Obama's nomination of U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

One day after Kagan wrapped up her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, witnesses both for and against Kagan's nomination offered their opinions on Kagan's fitness for the high court.

Gregory Garre, Kagan's predecessor as solicitor general under President George W. Bush, praised Kagan and said she has a spotless reputation inside the solicitor general's office.

"One can hold different views on the important legal issues facing the country and still conclude that Gen. Kagan is well-qualified to serve on the Supreme Court," Garre said.

Robert C. Clark, Kagan's predecessor as dean of Harvard Law School, said fears that Kagan would be an "activist judge" are unfounded.

"A lawyer who actually does this as she does is unlikely to get too creative or loose. When she makes decisions as a judge, she will feel obligated to follow the law, not make it up," Clark said.

Army National Guard Capt. Pete Hegseth, a witness for the minority Republicans on the committee, criticized Kagan's action while dean to limit military recruiters' access to students at Harvard.

"I find her actions unbecoming and certainly unbefitting a nominee to the Supreme Court," said Hegseth, executive director of Vets for Freedom and a student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.