law matters because it keeps us safe because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms and because it is the foundation of our democracy. reporter: elena kagan is no stranger to the court. however, analysts say with no judicial record of her own, what kind of justice she will be remains a mystery. the heritage foundation was a law student of professor obama at the university of chicago where elena kagan also taught. elena kagan has essentially three major articles and a spattering of smaller things. three articles for someone who is a professor at chicago and dean at harvard, a small number. reporter: others like washington of college law professor say since elena kagan kagan s entire career has been in constitutional law, that argument could be made that she has more knowledge of the court than a lower judge. she drafted supreme court opinions. that was part of her role. so she comes to the institution with at least a pretty good sense of how it works.