Manish Shah nominated for US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: President Barack Obama has added yet another Indian American name to the growing list of judiciary appointments made during his presidency.
Obama has nominated Manish S. Shah to the post of United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Shah was recommended to Obama by Illinois senator Mark Kirk (R-IL). Shah also received the approval of Illinois’ Democratic senator, Dick Durbin.
“He’s the most experienced prosecutor we have, and I will continue to work with Senator Durbin to make sure we have highly-skilled candidates like Shah to help strengthen our courts and clean up Illinois,” said Senator Kirk in a statement.
Senator Durbin echoed those sentiments, saying that he “firmly support[s] [Shah’s] nomination today by President Obama and look[s] forward to working Senator Kirk to see his nomination considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee and swiftly confirmed by the full Senate.”
The nomination of Shah to a key public office position comes on the heels of a flurry of such nominations for Indian-Americans by President Obama. Just a couple of weeks ago, Obama appointed Puneet Talwar to be the Assistant Secretary of State for all things involving the Middle East. Obama also nominated Sri Srinivasan to the Federal Court of Appeals earlier this year, a position which is largely considered the second-highest judiciary position in the country. Many insiders believe Srinivasan is being groomed to be the first ever Indian-American to serve on the US Supreme Court.
Forty year-old Manish Shah was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated from Stanford University with honors and distinctions, and earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. He worked as a litigation associate in San Francisco for some time, and then came to Illinois to clerk for Judge James B. Zagel. He joined the US Attorney’s Office in Chicago in 2001, where he has amassed a stellar reputation for convictions against violent criminals, public corruption, and other illegal activities.
Shah is currently married to Northwestern University professor Joanna Grisinger; the two live in Chicago.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com