Will Justice Kagan recuse herself in any challenge to Section V of the Voting Rights Act?

December 27th, 2011

Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder was argued on April 29, 2009 by Neil Katyal, under the supervision of Elena Kagan, who was confirmed on March 19, 2009. This case directly considered whether Section V of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court punted on the issue.

Now, there are a number of cases bubbling up–including the cases from Texas, South Carolina, and others–where DOJ has denied pre-clearance, that directly implicate Section V.

Will Kagan have to recuse herself from these cases, or any case that implicates Section V? That could be pretty big.

Or maybe Kagan *walled* herself off from any discussion of Section V like she did with the PPACA?