On March 18, 2009 Obama in his first judicial appointment nominated U.S. District Judge David F. Hamilton to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Justice Hamilton was raised in Indiana and attended Haverford College and Yale Law School; he was a Fulbright fellow before clerking on the 7th Circuit appellate court. Hamilton also served as a general counsel to then-Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, and as chairman of the Indiana Ethics Commission. He has also been active in the Indiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. President Clinton appointed Hamilton to the U.S. district court in Indianapolis in 1994; he was elevated to the district's chief judge in 2008. [1]
Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation Network reported that Hamilton was a "fundraiser for ACORN"; she also characterized his 7th Circuit nomination as Obama's "payback" to ACORN. Other critics of Hamilton's nomination, including the Family Research Council, Michelle Malkin, and Matthew Vadum of the American Spectator have since characterized Hamilton as "ACORN's Federal Judge." [2-5]
None of these critics clarified Hamilton's role as an ACORN "fundraiser": after graduating from college in 1979, Hamilton worked for one month as a door-to-door canvasser for ACORN. He was 22 at the time. [1,6,7]
Both of Indiana's federal senators, Republican Richard Lugar and Democrat Evan Bayh, support Obama's nomination of Hamilton to the 7th Circuit. [1,8]
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Is Obama the youngest president to take office?
Did Obama have more elective office experience than Lincoln when he ran for president?
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[1] Fletcher, Michael A. Obama Names Judge to Appeals Court. Washington Post. March 18, 2009
[2] Long, Wendy. Obama's First Appellate Court Nominee: Hard Left. National Review. March 17, 2009
[3] McClusky, Tom. Hill Update: Signing Our Life Away, Surreal Life - Congress Edition and Obama Goes Little Nuts. Family Research Council. March 18, 2009
[4] Malkin, Michelle. This court brought to you by ACORN. michellemalkin.com. March 23, 2009
[5] Vadum, Matthew. ACORN's Federal Judge. The American Spectator. March 17, 2009
[5] Bellantoni C & Dinan S. Obama names first court pick. Washington Times. March 18, 2009
[7] U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana. Chief Judge David F. Hamilton. February 29, 2008
[8] Savage, David G. Obama's first judge, connected, liberal? Chicago Tribune. March 17, 2009
