Senate confirms Elena Kagan as Supreme Court justice

WASHINGTON - The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan Thursday as the Supreme Court's 112th justice and the fourth woman in its history, granting a lifetime term to a lawyer and academic with a reputation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor and a liberal bent.

The vote was 63-37 for President Barack Obama's nominee to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens.

Five Republicans joined all but one Democrat and the Senate's two independents to support Kagan. In a rarely practiced ritual reserved for the most historic votes, senators sat at their desks and stood to cast their votes with "ayes" and "nays." Kagan watched the vote with her Justice Department colleagues in the solicitor general's conference room, the White House said.

Obama, traveling in Chicago, called her confirmation an affirmation of her character and judicial temperament, and called the addition of another woman to the court a sign of progress for the country.

Kagan isn't expected to alter the ideological balance of the court, where Stevens was considered a leader of the liberal wing.

But the two political parties clashed over her nomination and the court itself. Republicans portrayed Kagan as a politically motivated activist who would be unable to rule impartially.

Democrats defended her as highly qualified and a trailblazer for women who could bring moderation and real-world experience to a polarized court.

Kagan is the first Supreme Court nominee in nearly 40 years with no experience as a judge, and her swearing-in will mark the first time in history that three women will serve on the nine-member court together.

Her lack of judicial experience was the stated reason for one fence-sitting Republican, Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, to announce his opposition to Kagan's confirmation Thursday, hours before the vote.

Though calling her "brilliant," Brown - who had been seen as a potential GOP supporter - said she was missing the necessary background to serve as a justice. "The best umpires, to use the popular analogy, must not only call balls and strikes, but also have spent enough time on the playing field to know the strike zone," he said.

Democrats said they hoped Kagan would act as a counterweight to the conservative majority that's dominated the Supreme Court in recent years.

"I believe she understands that judges and justices must realize how the law affects Americans each and every day," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Judiciary Committee chairman. With her confirmation, "the Supreme Court will better reflect the diversity that made our country great."