Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearing on April 10th.
By American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next week on the nomination of Srikanth “Sri†Srinivasan, 46, the chief deputy to the Solicitor General, to become a circuit judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The District of Columbia is 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 per cent since 2005.
Srinivasan was nominated by President Barack Obama last June but his appointment came up against a roadblock when Republicans argued to find out if Srinivasan played a role in a disputed deal between the Justice Department and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota.
“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,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said after the decision by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“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,” Carney said.
Carney pointed out that 12 former officials from the Solicitor General’s office – six Democrats and six Republicans – have given support for Sinivasan’s appointment, writing in a letter, “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.”
“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,” Carney said.
In his stellar legal career, Srinivasan has argued 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and was also a lecturer at Harvard Law School. One of his prominent cases was representing former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling in his appeal.
Born in India, Srinivasan grew up in Lawrence, Kansas, the child of parents who worked for the University of Kansas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1989 from Stanford University and then earned an J.D./M.B.A. in 1995 from Stanford Law School and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
After law school, Srinivasan worked as a law clerk for United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III and then was a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
After his clerkships, Srinivasan worked for the law firm O’Melveny & Myers and then joined the office of the United States Solicitor General, where he worked from 2002 until 2007. He rejoined O’Melveny & Myers in 2007 as a partner, and was the firm’s hiring partner for its Washington, D.C. office.