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U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia photo
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor administers the oath of office in 2013 to Srikanth “Sri” Srinivasan, as his mother, Saroja Srinivasan, holds a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. |
ASAM NEWS
Judge Sri Srinivasan became the first Asian American to lead a US Circuit Court this week, reports Diya TV.
He took over the US Court of Appeals in the DC circuit from Judge Merrick Garland who stepped down, but will continue to serve on the 17-judge panel.
Garland received a nomination from then-President Barack Obama in March 2016 for the US Supreme Court, but the Republican-controlled Senate led by Sen. Mitch McConnell refused for 11 months to take up his nomination. That refusal cleared the way for Donald Trump to nominate Neil Gorsuch, which shifted the high court further to the right.
As leader of the what some say is the second most influential courts in the nation, he could be positioned to become a nominee to the Supreme Court like several of his predecessors, including Chief Justice John Roberts. According to the Washington Post, four of the nine Justices currently on the US Supreme Court have come from the Court of Appeals’ DC Circuit.
Srinivasan once served as a law clear for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and has worked in the Solicitor General’s office for both Republicans and Democrats.
Born in Chandigarh, India, he came to the United States with his family at the age of 4. He holds three degrees from Stanford University. His term will run seven years. Like Garland, he is considered a moderate.
As a lawyer, one of his most high-profile cases was the defense of Jeffrey Skilling, the former Enron executive. As deputy solicitor general of the US, he argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court.
He was nominated by Obama to the powerful US court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit and was confirmed by the Senate in 2013 by a 97-0 vote.
Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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