Elena Kagan begins as part time SC justice

Elena Kagan, the newest member of the Supreme Court, begins hearing cases as the court's 112th justice Monday morning. But anyone who wants to see her in action needs to be sharp because she won't be there much.

On Monday Kagan (pictured) will hear the first case argued before the court, and then slip quietly through the burgundy velvet curtains behind the bench. She'll be out of the action in all three cases.

On Tuesday her chair will be empty.

On Wednesday she'll put in a half-day.

Kagan, 50, has recused herself from 25 of the 51 cases the court has accepted so far this term, all as a result of her 14-month tenure as solicitor general, the government's chief legal representative in the Supreme Court and the nation's lower appellate courts.

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