I can’t say that I am pleased to learn that Obama’s first nomination to a Federal Appeals court is a former lawyer for Evan Bayh and the nephew of Lee Hamilton, but I have to acknowledge that he’s made some courageous decisions:
Judge [David F.] Hamilton was named to the bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994. As a trial judge largely bound to the rulings of higher courts, he has had few opportunities to demonstrate any ideological leanings.
He did receive attention for two rulings striking down actions of conservatives in the Indiana legislature. In 2005, he made news by ruling that the legislature was prohibited from beginning its sessions with overtly Christian prayers.
The decision drew widespread criticism in the legislature and across the state. On appeal, a panel of the Seventh Circuit dismissed the ruling, saying the people in whose name the American Civil Liberties Union had brought the suit lacked standing because they had not been harmed by the prayers.
In 2008, Judge Hamilton struck down as unconstitutional an amendment to the state law requiring convicted sex offenders to provide the authorities with personal information, including any e-mail addresses or user names. The amendment would also have required the offenders to agree to allow their home computers to be searched at any time and to pay for a program to allow monitoring of their Internet use.
The judge said the amendment cut into the heart of a person’s right to privacy in his home.
“The ability of the individual to retreat into his home and therefore to be free from unreasonable intrusion by the government stands at the very core” of constitutional protections against unreasonable searches, he said.
It takes a lot of balls to rule against Christian prayer and in favor of sex offenders’ privacy rights. In light of those rulings, it’s comforting to see that he has the support of Sen. Richard Lugar. It sounds like Judge Hamilton will be confirmed without too much trouble. He has a reputation as a ‘moderate’ despite those two rulings.
I don’t expect Obama to appoint nothing but progressive judges, but I hope he appoints some.
