Indian-American on Trump's list of Supreme Court nominees
Washington, June 28 : Amul Thapar, an Indian-American appeals court judge from the US state of Kentucky is on President Donald Trump's short list of potential nominees to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement a day before.
The first South Asian to be named to a lifetime federal judgeship, Thapar is one of three minorities on Trump's list of 25 names, which was put together in consultation with conservative legal scholars, the US media reported.
The others are Federico Moreno, a federal district judge in South Florida, who is Hispanic, and Robert Young, a retired Michigan Supreme Court judge, who is African-American.
Thapar, 49, currently sits on the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals and is a favourite of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Courier-Journal reported.
He was previously floated as a possible pick to replace associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia but he and others on the list of potential nominees were passed over for now Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Kennedy, who provided key votes for same sex-marriage, abortion access and affirmative action, announced his retirement on Wednesday. The development has reopened the door for Thapar's consideration.
McConnell has praised Thapar in the past. "He is a well-qualified jurist, and a man of high integrity," McConnell said in a statement last year following a Senate committee's approval of Thapar serving on the appeals court. The 6th Circuit covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
Thapar is likely near the top of McConnell's list, if not at the top, said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond. "You certainly can't rule him out. He has to be considered a contender," Tobias said.
Prior to his confirmation to the 6th Circuit, Thapar served as a US district court judge and US attorney in the Eastern District of Kentucky. He also served as an assistant US attorney in Ohio and Washington.
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K’taka HC judge whose controversial remarks triggered controversy expresses regret before open court
Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.
Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.
On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.
Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”
Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”
Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.
In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.
The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.
Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.
