Do you think Biden might nominate Obama to SCOTUS?

[Celerity]

36. From 2007 to 2013, Kruger was assistant US Solicitor General and acting principal deputy solicitor

part of that time as well.

12 cases argued before SCOTUS.

What can we learn from Justice Leondra Kruger’s arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court? (2015)

http://scocablog.com/what-can-we-learn-from-justice-leondra-krugers-arguments-before-the-u-s-supreme-court/

California’s newest Supreme Court Justice, Leondra R. Kruger, served from 2007 to 2012 as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States. Hired initially by Republican Solicitor General Paul Clement, Kruger served under six different confirmed or acting Solicitors General. When Neal Katyal was elevated to Acting Solicitor General in 2010 he appointed Kruger as his Acting Principal Deputy, the second-highest position in that office. Kruger’s appointment as Principal Deputy in 2010 capped an unusually fast rise, indicative of Kruger’s innate skills as well as her ability to command respect from peers and, indeed, experienced colleagues much older than she.

While in the Solicitor General’s office, Kruger argued twelve cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court (and of course participated in the briefing of many more). In five of these cases, Kruger appeared for the principal party (as Petitioner or Respondent); and in seven, she argued as an Amicus or “friend of the Court,” a position that the Solicitor General is often granted to present the federal interest in a case where the federal government is not the direct party. One of the unique aspects of the Solicitor General’s role is how regularly the Court invites or allows that office to participate in oral argument, even as amicus, and how often the SG’s amicus positions actually predominate in the Court’s final decisions!

This post will not survey all of Kruger’s oral arguments; you can find a complete list and links to the audio of the arguments themselves here. (Interestingly, Kruger’s recent appointment was apparently so speedy that the Oyez audio file site doesn’t even display a photo of her, as it does for most regular SCOTUS arguers.) However, by listening to a few of Kruger’s arguments, I think you can pick up some signals of what Justice Leondra Kruger will be like when sitting on the California Supreme Court’s bench.

What comes across most consistently and immediately in the audio files of Kruger’s arguments is a remarkable ability to stay calm in the face of intense questioning. Indeed, her rare talent is to sound not just calm, but actually sensible and understanding, as she confronts a Justice or two known to be hostile to the government’s position.

snip