Senate confirms Elena Kagan to Supreme Court

Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Elena Kagan as the nation's 112th Supreme Court justice on Saturday, making one-third of the nation's highest court women for the first time in history.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Roberts telephoned Kagan to offer "warm congratulations" Thursday, shortly after the Senate confirmed her to the post. The 63-37 vote represented a victory for President Obama, who has doubled the number of women ever named to the Supreme Court with his first two nominees.

"I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice," Obama said in Chicago, where he was traveling. "And I am proud, also, of the history we're making with her appointment." more

Supreme Court to Hear Jeffrey Skilling's Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO (WSJ MarketWatch) -- The Supreme Court will consider an appeal from former Enron Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Skilling, according to media reports Tuesday. Skilling, who lost a lower court appeal on all 19 counts in 2006, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the downfall of the energy trader in 2001. Enron was the largest U.S. bankruptcy at the time.