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Obama Nominates ACORN Activist to Appeals Court
Obama Nominates ACORN Activist to Appeals Court
Thursday, November 5, 2009 8:22 PM
By: David A. Patten Article Font Size
Senate Republicans are gearing up to block the appeals-court nomination of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton, whose resume includes a stint as a fundraiser for ACORN, the community-organizing group recently tripped up by a series of embarrassing undercover videos.
Conservative legal groups have described Hamilton as "ultra-liberal." His appointment to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago would provide an aerie perch from which to rule on appeals from Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told fellow senators that before Veterans Day "We are going to [vote on] Judge David Hamilton, Seventh Circuit, who has been waiting since April. We have agreed to time agreements. Do you want an hour, two hours, five hours, 10 hours of debate? No, we don't want anything. Up-or-down vote."
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News that Reid planned to push the Hamilton nomination without much debate has triggered alarms among Senate Republicans, who view Hamilton's record as too extreme.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., recent wrote a letter to colleagues warning that Hamilton "has used his position as a district court judge to drive a political agenda."
Sessions accused Hamilton of being a judicial activist who had "abused his lifetime appointment" as a judge to "deprive the people of Indiana of their domestic and constitutional rights…."
Ironically, when President Obama selected Hamilton to become the first judicial nomination of his presidency, aides said it signaled the president's desire to work harmoniously with Senate Republicans.
"We are trying to set a tone here," one Obama adviser told reporters in March, as reported by the Tribune Washington Bureau. "We are eager to put the confirmation wars behind us."
Hamilton's nomination soon drew heavy flak from conservative legal organizations, however. The Judicial Confirmation Network called Hamilton's rulings "extreme" and described him as "ultra-liberal."
Also, a coalition of four pro-life groups -- Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel and Focus on the Family Action – sent a letter to Senate members protesting the nomination.
"Hamilton issued a series of rulings over seven years that prevented the state of Indiana from enforcing its informed-consent law requiring abortionists to inform women about the risks of the abortion procedure," the letter stated.
Hamilton's defenders concede he was a canvasser for ACORN -- but that was in 1979, the year he graduated from college. He only spent one month helping the group raise money when he was 22, say his supporters.
On Wednesday, a GOP background document posted on Sen. Sessions' Facebook page listed the GOP's reasons for opposing Hamilton:
Hamilton formerly served as vice president for litigation and board member of the Indiana state branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Not infrequently, the ACLU is involved in cases that appellate courts are called to review.
As a judge, Hamilton blocked enforcement of an Indiana statute "that barred the sale of display of sexually explicit material within 500 feet of a church or school," the senators' list states.
Hamilton ruled it was a violation of the doctrine of separation of church and state for the Indiana House of Representative to begin each session with a prayer mentioning Jesus Christ. "But," the statement contends, "Hamilton allowed prayers in the House chamber if they were to 'Allah.'"
Hamilton has advocated the "empathy standard," that is, that judges should try to understand the material and emotional circumstances of those involved in a legal issue, before making a ruling. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, hailed as an empathic figure by President Obama, indicated during her confirmation hearings that empathy should not be the basis for a judge's decisions.
For seven years, Hamilton's rulings blocked implementation of Indiana's informed consent law on abortion -- despite precedents strongly suggesting that the Indiana requirement was lawful. This led to Hamilton's being rebuked by another judge. In 2002, Hamilton's ruling was reversed by the same 7th Circuit court the president now wants him to join.
Stopping the Hamilton nomination is likely to prove an uphill fight, in part because he enjoys the strong support of Indiana GOP Sen. Richard Lugar.
The Hamilton nomination was approved in June by the Senate Judiciary Committee along straight party lines. But several Republicans have hinted they may filibuster the nomination on the Senate floor.
Hamilton is a Yale Law School graduate who once worked for then-Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh. A nephew of former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, Hamilton was originally appointed to the bench by President Clinton in 1994.
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