Eventually settling in Lawrence, Kan., the Srinivasans quickly became so Americanized that they would travel long distances to see their beloved Jayhawks move through the NCAA brackets. That's saying a lot for a man whose father was born in the southern Indian hamlet of Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram, became a college mathematics professor and moved the family to Berkeley, Calif., in the late 1960s. When they first became colleagues in the Solicitor General's office, he says, "I thought, 'Supreme Court justice.'" "He is attracted to persuasive arguments, regardless of their source," says Irv Gornstein, executive director of the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown University, who worked with Srinivasan in the Solicitor General's office and at the Washington law firm O'Melveny & Myers. Current and former colleagues, as well as family members and friends, describe him as a doting father, loyal friend, fanatical University of Kansas basketball fan and open-minded attorney who doesn't come to each case with a predisposition. That an Obama nominee could be so quickly and completely embraced by Republicans is a testament to Srinivasan's bipartisan credentials and collegiality. The first time Srinivasan argued a case before the high court, Dellinger says, he took a single sheet of paper to the podium so he would not appear overconfident. "Sri is undoubtedly considered one of the best three or four Supreme Court advocates in the country," says Walter Dellinger, a former acting solicitor general under President Bill Clinton. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the Senate's most conservative members, acknowledged was "broad bipartisan support." Following close on the withdrawal of New York prosecutor Caitlin Halligan, he sailed unanimously through the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate with what Sen. "Sri is a trailblazer who personifies the best of America," Obama said, noting Srinivasan will be the nation's first circuit court judge of South Asian descent.įor Srinivasan, it was a walk in the park. Circuit court was blocked by Republicans. His judicial nominees have languished longer in the Senate than those of his predecessors, and his first choice for the D.C. The vote was 97-0.įor President Obama, it was no small feat. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate unanimously confirmed Srinivasan on Thursday as the first new judge since 2006 on the U.S. It was just the latest chapter in a stellar legal career that has taken the 46-year-old litigator known as "Sri" to a seat on the nation's second most powerful court - and given him instant buzz as a potential Supreme Court justice himself. 1254, and the precedents established by INS v.Chadha, United States v. Along the way, the mathematics professor's son sprinkled in references to numerators, denominators and algorithms, the statutes 28 U.S.C. Why, Chief Justice John Roberts wanted to know, was the government not only refusing to defend the law, which denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, but arguing the other side - all while continuing to enforce it?įrom his post feet away from the nine justices March 27, Srikanth Srinivasan (SREE-kont SREE-nee-vah-sun) calmly explained what Roberts called a "totally unprecedented" situation. WASHINGTON - The issue before the Supreme Court was the Defense of Marriage Act, and the smooth-talking native of India representing the United States of America at the podium had a tough argument to make. This story was first published on May 23, 2013. Srikanth Srinivasan is seen as a possible nominee by President Obama to the Supreme Court.
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