Maia Egnal

Executive Block

April 8, 2020

An Open Letter on the Topic of Senate Confirmation

I remember the call that began this all so clearly. Before you respond to this letter, I ask

that you know that you are sure of what you are doing. I ask that you know that you are truly

ready to attempt to pass a Senate confirmation process. I ask that you know that you are ready to

become a Supreme Court Justice in all of its glory and make it through a confirmation in all of its

grime. All I ask is that, before you proceed, you truly know what you are agreeing to.

My story truly begins on April 12, 2009, when President Cooper asked me if I would give

up being the Solicitor General to become a Supreme Court Justice. I quite literally jumped out of

my chair, and told him yes as eagerly as possible. As you might guess, I had no idea what I was

saying yes to. From the month between when President Cooper officially nominated me, to when

I walked into the Capitol for my confirmation hearing, my life was a whirlwind of preparation as

well as trepidation. As I had been the Solicitor General under a very liberal administration, I

would need to come off as more moderate in order to appeal to the nature of the Senate. The

Senate Majority Leader, Rebecca Goldberg, was a Democrat. She was from a swing state that

was filled with both city radicals and ultra-conservative religious people. Like her, most of the

Senate was toeing a careful line to try to be reelected. Everything was about a balance - how to

show who I was and who I would be as a judge while also making sure that the Senate would

approve me. I had to balance my past, where I had fought for increased protection of children in
prisons and continued busing between schools, with what I wanted to be in the future, an

unbiased judge who approached every new case impartially.

Every morning, I would sneak out of the house at the crack of dawn. As I was still

working as the Solicitor General, I had to edit the briefs for the Supreme Court and prepare for

my oral arguments, before even thinking about the Senate confirmation. When I finally collapsed

into my chair at my house to eat dinner late at night, almost nobody was still awake. After eating

dinner, I would go upstairs and scan all of my past work, trying to search for what the Senate

would use against me and how I could fix it. I knew my work trying to prevent children from

being tried as adults may not sit well with everyone, but I hoped to pass it over as more moderate

if questioned. I knew that my championing multiple cases that dealt with starting bussing

between schools in many states would be controversial for many people, even those who were in

more liberal states. While there was no way to make this a more moderate stance, I decided that

if I was questioned, I would simply reply with, “I believe it is my duty as Solicitor General to

uphold the laws and precedents of this nation. The Supreme Court ruled that schools were to be

completely integrated, and my job was to make sure that this continues to be the case.”

After the torturous month of preparation was over, the day finally came. On May 15,

2009, I got up at 5 AM in the morning. My hands were trembling so badly, it took me ten

minutes to try to tie my shoes. Finally, I began my walk to the metro.

On the long metro ride to the Capitol, I thought about what this all could mean. Getting

confirmed by the Senate would make me one of just over 100 justices to ever serve on the

Supreme Court. It would write my name down in history for the rest of time, something I had

dreamed about since I was just an 11- year-old girl in the middle-of-nowhere, Wisconsin. It
would prove to all of my classmates back at Yale Law School that, although I did not come from

a family with money or a long history of Ivy League legacies, I was just as good as every one of

them. It would mean that I would have the chance to really make some of the changes I had

dreamed about forever. I could fight for more religious freedom in schools or examine what the

Eighth Amendment truly means in a modern context.

The metro lurched to a stop and I got out. As I approached the steps of the Capitol, I had

to sit down to calm myself. Once I was ready, I walked up the steps and into the Senate side of

the Capitol. As I took my seat, I could feel the eyes of all of the senators on me. I clenched my

hands together to try to stop them from shaking. Since the Judiciary Committee had gone

through all of my FBI records and the like, they were already prepared. I was woefully not. After

the first day, I stumbled home. That night, I spent hours on the phone with the White House

counsel and Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy trying to prepare for any question I

could. The next day, my hands trembled a little less. Within the week, I was able to sit back in

my chair and answer every question the Judiciary Committee asked me. Despite our rocky

beginning, they were still a more left-leaning committee and they nominated me for a full Senate

debate easily. When it came time for the full Senate hearings, I was ready.

The next day, I walked into the Senate for my first full Senate hearing. After I took my

seat, I had to cover my right foot with my left to keep it from tapping. I laid my hands flat on the

desk to keep myself from fidgeting with my rings. ‘I thought we were past this,’ I scolded

myself. Over the next hours, the senators asked me every question I could possibly imagine.

While I could feel myself stuttering over the questions a bit in the beginning, by the end, my

heart rate had slowed down to the point where it was not threatening to split my chest in two.
 Over the next couple of weeks, I felt the proceedings getting even better. Each night, I

would come home at midnight and then stay up for hours trying to prepare for the next day.

Finally the day for my vote arrived. As I walked into the Senate I was reminded of the

first day of my hearing, when my hands were shaking so badly I could not even tie my shoes.

Now I was more comfortable than before. I knew that whatever happened with the vote, I had

done my best, and the thought made me smile..

I held my breath as each Senator cast their vote. One by one, they stood up, each voting

in a similar manner to what I had expected. Finally, the last Senator, Senator Harris, stood up.

Throughout my trial, Senator Harris had been the hardest on me. She had asked the hardest

questions, despite being a Democrat, and she had seemed all along as if she would vote no. It

took all of my strength not to close my eyes or avoid eye contact as she stared right at me.

“I vote yes,” she said, “I believe that Ms. Kark will become one of the finest Supreme

Court justices we have ever had.”

While she had not been the tie-breaker for me, her endorsement filled me with joy and

confidence. I hardly heard when they announced that the Senate had confirmed me because I felt

like I had already passed.

So, I guess my reason for writing this letter to you, whoever you may be, is to truly tell

you what you are in for. A Senate confirmation process is no joke, but in the end, if you are right

for the job, you are going to have to be able to handle a couple of pushy men who think they are

smarter than you. I had no idea what I was getting myself in to when President Cooper called me

fifteen years ago, but I have never looked back since.

- Olivia Kark
 Bibliography

Parks, Maryalice, and Ali Rogin. “Senate Confirmation Hearings: Everything to Know.” ​ABC

News,​ ABC News Network, 7 Feb. 2017,

abcnews.go.com/Politics/senate-confirmation-works/story?id=43643784.

“Transcript: Interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Takeaway.”
WNYC

Studios​, 16 Sept. 2013, ​www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/

transcript-interview-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg.

Short Story Rubric

Short Story Components Publishable Sophisticated Adequate Needs Unsatisfact-
Development ory

Style 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Author uses creative and Comments on Style: The letter writing means that you have a very distinct
effective use of rhetorical and style to work with, just make sure that you don’t lose some of the
stylistic devices, the “Show, visual/dialogue conventions that make fiction writing so compelling
Don’t Tell” technique, Point of
View, and dialogue to enhance
the reader’s experience.

Organization of Plot and 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Setting

Author effectively develops the Comments on Organization of Plot and Setting: You have a great grasp of
components of the short story the nomination process and it is clear from the format, but you are missing
arc (hook, exposition, inciting narrative opportunities to make the rising action feel as impactful, or to make
action, rising action, climax,
the reader really see the climax of the story,
falling action and insight).
Setting is distinguishable and
well developed. Plot and Setting
relate to government and
politics.

Character Development 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Author creates real, believable Comments on Character Development:I know your original had more of the
characters, at least 2 of which family story- it is hard to do both and its ok to focus where you did but may
work in government or politics,
and captures a universal aspect want to invest in the personal aspects- you have a little bit but I feel like I
of the human condition. The could make a biography of your protagonist without knowing her
main character’s conflict is clear
and likely causes/requires
change. Character is motivated
by a political catalyst, likely
presented in the inciting action.

Theme/Insight 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Author weaves through the plot Comments on Theme/Insight:

a recognizable and effective
theme that isn’t cliche. The
story’s ending type is
appropriate for the story’s genre
and story arc components.
The theme and insight should
be reflective of both political
knowledge and knowledge of
the human condition.

Short Story Component Publishable Sophisticated Adequate Needs Unsatisfact-

Development ory

Mechanics 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Author uses Times New Roman Comments on Mechanics:

or similar, 12 point font, one
inch margins, page numbers as
a footer, and includes a heading
and effective title on the first
page only. Author has no
spelling, grammar, punctuation,
or formatting mistakes. Dialogue
is properly punctuated and
capitalized and dialogue tags,
syntax and diction are varied.
Author either single spaces and
skips lines between paragraphs
or double spaces and indents
paragraphs and dialogue
(1000-1300 words).

_______ /50 Total Grade