Obama Nominates Four To Senior Justice Posts

Kagan is often mentioned as a potential Supreme Court justice, though she has never been a judge. The title of solicitor general would give her an even more attractive résumé for a seat on the high court.

Less widely known outside Washington is Ogden, who as deputy attorney general will essentially manage the day-to-day operations of the 110,000-employee department. Ogden, a partner at the WilmerHale firm, held senior roles in the Justice and Defense departments in the Clinton administration.

Perrelli, picked for the civil division, worked side by side with Obama as his managing editor at the Harvard Law Review in the early 1990s.

For the past two months, Ogden and Perrelli have led the Justice Department transition team, getting a preview of the policy and budget challenges that are likely to soon preoccupy them.

Among other issues, the new team can expect to face an immediate and administration-defining decision on a Supreme Court case about whether the president may order the military to indefinitely detain suspects living lawfully in the United States. It is one of the broadest claims of executive power the Bush administration has asserted in the nation's anti-terrorism efforts.

The government's brief in the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri -- a Qatari national seized in Illinois and held in a Navy brig for more than five years without formal charges -- is due at the court about a month after Obama is inaugurated. The case presents the new administration with the option of endorsing the aggressive use of executive power favored by Bush or striking a new path in how the country confronts those suspected of plotting terrorism.

Douglas A. Berman, law professor at Ohio State University, said he was cheered by the inclusion of two nominees with backgrounds in academia rather than Washington's political scene. "Kagan and Johnsen should diminish the concerns I was hearing from a number of folks, who asked, 'Where is the change I was seeking on the Justice issue?' " Berman said.

In a statement, Obama said, "These individuals bring the integrity, depth of experience and tenacity that the Department of Justice demands in these uncertain times. I have the fullest confidence that they will ensure that the Department of Justice once again fulfills its highest purpose: to uphold the Constitution and protect the American people."

Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.