Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Obama's first judicial nominee

President Barack Obama is said to have selected his first judicial nominee, one to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is current United States District Court Judge David Hamilton of Indiana. Hamilton is reportedly a very moderate Democrat, and his nomination has the support of both Indiana senators (Evan Bayh, a Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican).

The announcement of Hamilton as the administration's first judicial nominee is being seen as an attempt by the President to dampen the recent partisan and ideological rancor over judicial nominees. Also noteworthy is that President Obama has apparently reinstated the role of the American Bar Association in pre-screening judicial nominees before their nominations become public. This had been the practice for roughly 50 years before the Bush administration discarded it in the spring of 2001. You can find the New York Times story on the nomination of Judge Hamilton here.