The recent announcement of the retirement of Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer from the Supreme Court has prompted speculation about possible replacements. President Biden has vowed to nominate a Black woman to the court. This is the third installment in a multipart series. This week's installment focuses on Leondra Kruger. Born in California, Kruger is currently an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court. She clerked for David Tatel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2002 to 2003. She then clerked for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court John Paul Stevens from 2003 to 2004. From 2007 to 2013, she served as assistant to the United States Solicitor General and the acting deputy solicitor general. She argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2013, she served as deputy assistant attorney general at the United States Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. In 2014, she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Supreme Court. She received her undergraduate training at Harvard and a law degree from Yale.
Background
Associate Justice Leondra R. Kruger (California Courts: The Judicial Branch of California)
https://www.courts.ca.gov/33016.htm
California Supreme Court was Split. Leondra Kruger Found the Center (NYT, 2/6/2022)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/us/leondra-kruger-supreme-court.html
Leondra Kruger: California Supreme Court Judge Breaking Barriers in the Golden State (CNN politics, 2/2/2022)
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/politics/leondra-kruger-supreme-court-profile/index.html
Supreme Court Nominee
One of Biden’s potential Supreme Court picks is facing about a religious liberty case (LGBTQ Nation, 2/9/2022)
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/02/one-bidens-potential-supreme-court-picks-facing-questions-religious-liberty-case/
A potential pick for US top court, Kruger admired for intellect, consensus building (The Times of Israel, 2/5/2022)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-potential-pick-for-us-top-court-kruger-admired-for-intellect-consensus-building/
Know Kruger? Who is California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger (The U.S. Sun, 1/31/2022)
https://www.the-sun.com/news/4581075/who-is-california-supreme-court-justice-leondra-kruger/
Who is Leondra Kruger? 5 Things to known about possible Supreme Court pick (Fox 23 News. 1/27/2022)
https://www.fox23.com/news/trending/who-is-leondra-kruger-5-things-know-about-possible-supreme-court-pick/FZWY6R77JFFV7KPBHB3VUMRG24/
Leondra Kruger, a possible Supreme Court nominee has Black and Jewish roots (Forward, 1/27/2022)
https://forward.com/fast-forward/481566/leondra-kruger-jewish-stephen-breyer-possible-supreme-court-nominee/
Potential Supreme Court justice nominee: Who is Leondra Kruger? (The Black Chronicle, 1/26/2022)
https://blackchronicle.com/potential-supreme-court-justice-nominee-who-is-leondra-kruger/
Biden’s First Supreme Court Selection: The Leading Contenders (Bloomberg. 1/26/2022)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-26/biden-s-first-supreme-court-selection-the-leading-contenders
Potential Biden Supreme Court pick Leondra Kruger known as moderate in California (Reuters, 1/26/2022)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/potential-biden-supreme-court-pick-leondra-kruger-known-moderate-california-2022-01-26/
Justice Leondra R. Kruger of the California Supreme Court is a possible nominee (NYT, 1/26/2022)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/26/us/politics/justice-leondra-r-kruger.html
Controversy
Potential Supreme Court nominee faces questions on religious rights case. (The Washington Post, 2/9/2022)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/09/leondra-kruger-supreme-court/
Leondra Kruger, potential Biden Supreme Court nominee, stunned justices with position on religious liberty (Fox News, 1/31`/2022)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/leondra-kruger-biden-supreme-court-nominee-stunned-justices-position-religious-liberty