|
Washington:
The White House has urged the Senate to swiftly confirm
Chandigarh-born Indian-American legal luminary Srikanth 'Sri'
Srinivasan to what is "often called the nation's second-highest
court", the US court of appeals for the American capital.
Srinivasan, 45, became the first South Asian to be ever nominated
to the circuit court by President Barack Obama last June, but the
Senate Judiciary Committee announced his confirmation hearing for
next week only Monday.
.
"The DC Circuit, as you know, is often considered the nation's
second-highest court, but it has twice as many vacancies as any
other court of appeals, and its workload has increased by over 20
percent since 2005," Obama's press Secretary Jay Carney told
reporters.
"Sri's confirmation will be an important first step to filling
this court's four vacancies, and he will be, when confirmed, the
first South Asian circuit court judge in history," he said urging
the Senate to move swiftly to also confirm the 15 additional
judicial nominees waiting for votes.
The third South Asian named to any federal judgeship, Srinivasan
was named principal deputy solicitor general of the US in August
2011, succeeding another Indian American, Neal Kumar Katyal.
"You may not know that Sri was born in India and raised in
Lawrence, Kansas, eventually becoming an all-star point guard at
Lawrence High School," Carney said.
"Sri is of course also a highly respected appellate advocate who
has spent a distinguished career litigating before the US Supreme
Court and the US Court of Appeals, both in private practice and on
behalf of the United States for both Democratic and Republican
administrations," he said.
"He has argued before the Supreme Court 24 times; drafted briefs
and several dozen additional cases; and has also served as lead
counsel in numerous cases before the federal and state appellate
courts.
"As a testament to how highly regarded he is by members of both
parties, 12 former officials from the Solicitor General's office
-- six of them Democrats, six of them Republicans -- all announced
their support for Sri today," Carney said.
"Sri has a first-rate intellect, an open-minded approach to the
law, a strong work ethic, and an unimpeachable character. Sri is
one of the best appellate lawyers in the country," they wrote,
according to Carney.
The signatories of the letter include Paul Clement, Ted Olson, Ken
Starr, and Walter Dellinger.
Srinivasan received the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in
Furthering US National Security in 2003 and the Office of the
Secretary of Defence Award for Excellence in 2005.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
|
Comments
|
Quick links