Litigation

Obama Names First Judicial Nominee

By Deanna Dawson

President Obama has named U.S. District Court Judge David F. Hamilton as his pick to fill a vacancy on the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Hamilton has served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana since his appointment to the bench by President Clinton in 1994.

The Obama administration claims that Judge Hamilton’s nomination signals a retreat from the partisanship and contentiousness that has marred judicial nominations in recent years. An administration spokesperson stated, ”We would like to put the history of the confirmation wars behind us.”

The partisan battles are not over yet. Two  conservative groups,  the Judicial Confirmation Network and the Committee for Justice, criticized Obama’s pick. “Judge Hamilton is no ‘moderate,’ as the Obama White House is trying to spin him,” said Wendy Long, president of the Judicial Confirmation Network, pointing to Judge Hamilton’s prior membership on the board of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU.

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Full post as published by The Gavel on March 18, 2009 (boomark / email).