Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan begin today. But this news was overshadowed by the death this morning of Sen. Robert Byrd. 

Takeaway Washington correspondent, Todd Zwillich looks at the record of Sen. Byrd and previews the Kagan hearings, along with Jamal Greene, associate professor of law at Columbia Law School and former law clerk for Justice Stevens.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich tells us about Sidney Thomas and why his name is being floated as a possible replacement to Justice John Paul Stevens. We also talk about states that are challenging the constitutionality of the health care law, and Congress' decision on extending unemployment benefits.
• RESPONSES TAKEOUT: We hear from you, our listeners, and what you had to say about a replacement for Justice Stevens. And we hear the nominees for the Takeaway t-shirt contest.

Justice John Paul Stevens announced on Friday that he will retire this June, after spending 35 years on the bench. Democrats say they want to move quickly into the nomination process in order to have the next justice confirmed by the end of the summer.

We take look at what's ahead this week with Marcus Mabry of The New York Times and Latoya Peterson of the blog Racialicious. This week, President Obama hosts a nuclear security summit while the first lady travels to Mexico. The White House may soon reveal possible nominees to take Justice Stevens' seat on the nation's most honorable bench. And a new dating show hits VH1.

I had the great honor of clerking for Justice Stevens in 1995-1996.  He was a brilliant jurist with a remarkable ability to penetrate to the center of a legal dispute.  He was also a mentor who was unfailingly kind and utterly without airs.  When we met to discuss cases that were pending before the Court, the Justice sat in an old armchair, while we clerks occupied a couch and chairs nearby.  He explored theories with us and sought our views and perspectives, even though he had already been a Justice for twenty years and a lawyer decades more.  He treated us as intellectual collaborators in his work, although his opinions always bore the unmistakable stamp of his mind and his pen.