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President Barack Obama's choice of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court is at odds with the recent tradition of selecting Supreme Court nominees from the lower courts. Mark Rahdert of Temple's Beasley School of Law says choosing Supreme Court justices from the ranks of the lower federal courts is a relatively new wrinkle. He says the trend was started 30 years ago by then President Richard Nixon. "It's not required by the Constitution. Over most of the court's history most of the individuals appointed have served in other capacities, not as lower court judges, before being named to the court," Rahdert said.