Srinivasan gets US senate nod to be top court judge

Describing him as a “trailblazer” who personifies the best of America, the US President Barack Obama has said that Indian-American Srikanth Srinivasan will serve as a judge of America’s second highest court “with distinction”.

Chandigarh-born Srinivasan’s nomination to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was unanimously approved by the Senate on Thursday, with 97 voting in favour. Srinivasan, 46, has become the first South Asian to be appointed to the top American court.

“Sri is a trailblazer who personifies the best of America. Now he will serve with distinction on the federal bench,” Obama said in a statement.

“Sri will in fact be the first South Asian American to serve as a circuit court judge in our history. Born in Chandigarh, India, and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Sri spent nearly two decades as an extraordinary litigator before serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor-General of the United States,” Obama said on Thursday.

Srinivasan was first nominated by Obama on June 11, 2012. On January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the president, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, Obama re-nominated him for the same office. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, hailed the appointment to what is considered as the top court of the country after the Supreme Court.

Senator Mark R. Warner, co-chair of the bipartisan Senate India Caucus, said he is delighted with the unanimous confirmation. Warner had introduced Srinivasan in the Judiciary Committee earlier this year.

Srinivasan is the principal deputy solicitor-general, meaning he defends Obama’s policies before the Supreme Court, but he enjoyed support from both parties and earlier worked under president George W. Bush. He is the first justice confirmed to the Washington court since 2006, a year after Chief Justice John Roberts’ elevation created a vacancy. Republican senators blocked a vote on Obama’s earlier nominee, Caitlin Halligan. Srinivasan’s confirmation also faced danger due to a feud related to the use of the filibuster, which allows senators to block a vote without the support of 60 votes – not a simple majority – in the 100-member body.

Asian American lawmakers and advocacy groups hailed his confirmation as historic.

“Sri will offer a unique perspective and added diversity that is long overdue in our justice system,” said Representative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who is the first Hindu to serve in the US Congress.

Asian Americans mostly lean toward the Democratic Party, but experts say that Srinivasan’s views are hard to pin down ideologically – a factor that apparently worked in his favour for his nomination.

Srinivasan in March led the Obama administration’s argument to the Supreme Court that it should strike down the Defence of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages. But while in the private sector, Srinivasan defended former Enron president Jeffrey Skilling who is in prison on charges related to the oil company’s financial collapse.