Three Indian-American legal luminaries may be among the possible candidates whom US President Barack Obama could nominate as a Supreme Court judge following the sudden death of conservative icon Justi
Three Indian-American legal luminaries may be among the possible candidates whom US President Barack Obama could nominate as a Supreme Court judge following the sudden death of conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia.
Within hours of the death of Scalia at a ranch in Texas, the name of Chandigarh-born Sri Srinivasan popped up as the top contender to the post. Sri Srinivasan, 48, is currently the US circuit judge of the court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit which many call as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court.
He is not only considered as a favourite of Mr Obama, who has called him a trailblazer, but also his nomination to the Court of Appeals was confirmed by a record 97-0 votes, which is an achievement given the bitter political divide in the US Senate. The White House Monday refused to give any indication of the list of persons Mr Obama is looking into to zero in on his nomination for the next Supreme Court judge.
In the list, could be Neal Katyal who served as acting solicitor general of the US from May 2010 until June 2011 and California attorney-general Kamala Harris, who is considered to be very close to Mr Obama. Ms Harris, who traces her roots to Chennai, is currently running for the US Senate seat in California.
On Monday several media outlets mentioned Ms Harris as among the potential ones who could replace Scalia in the Supreme Court. Ms Har-ris, 51, who was among the six people mentioned by New York Times, has not reacted to the speculation so far.
