Free Republic

Time to dust off the old filibuster. Dawn Johnson, sister-in-law of David Hamilton (the jurist who said it was illegal to begin a legislative session with a prayer in Jesus' name, but perfectly OK to pray to Allah), has been nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. You may remember Ms. Johnson for the quotation in the title of this post, in which she compared pregnancy to slavery. Brillyunt!

True to his campaign promises, President Barack Hussein Obama has picked a rabid judicial activist as his first federal court pick. Judge David Hamilton has been chosen by Obama to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Hamilton is precisely what Obama wants in a judge: Someone who ignores the Constitution and imposes his own liberal ideas on each case. Hamilton will have what Obama calls “empathy” for the poor, child molesters, abortionists, murderers, etc. Hamilton has ideal liberal credentials. He is a former ACLU lawyer and was a fundraiser for the corrupt group known as...

President Obama / Judge David Hamilton Washington D.C., Mar 27, 2009 / 04:04 am (CNA).- President Barack Obama’s first judicial nominee’s record includes judicial decisions which obstructed the enforcement of Indiana’s informed consent law requiring women to be told the risks of abortion.President Obama on March 17 nominated Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal. He is presently U.S. District Chief Judge for the Southern District of Indiana.Over his seven years as a district judge, Judge Hamilton ruled against the Indiana informed consent law which required abortionists to inform women about the risks of abortion. The...

In 2005, in Hinrichs v. Bosma, federal district judge (and now Seventh Circuit nominee) David Hamilton enjoined the Speaker of Indiana’s House of Representatives from permitting “sectarian” prayers to be offered as part of that body’s official proceedings. In so doing, Hamilton adopted one reasonable construction—though not the only one available—of the Supreme Court’s messy Establishment Clause rulings. (In denying a stay of Hamilton’s order pending appeal, the majority on a divided Seventh Circuit panel indicated that its “initial reading of the case law” strongly inclined it to Hamilton’s reading, but the Seventh Circuit ultimately reversed Hamilton on standing grounds.)...

Busy week, busy people, and somehow I missed Matthew Vadum's report revealing that President Obama's first judicial appointee, David Hamilton, is a former ACORN fundraiser. I didn't see it until it was mentioned in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today. Michelle Malkin has a whole blog category devoted to "ACORN Watch," so how she missed this one I don't know, but Twitter is an amazing tool: rsmccain@michellemalkin Michelle, please prepare to blow a gasket http://tinyurl.com/cdcszj #tcot So we're now in gasket-blowing countdown mode. Will let you know when Mt. Malkin erupts.

President Obama's nomination of David Hamilton for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is, I suspect, the beginning of an avalanche of left-wing appellate court nominees. The next nominee may well be Maryland district court judge Andre Davis. Judge Davis has a reputation for making rulings favorable to criminal defendants and for having these rulings reversed, including by Clinton appointees to the Fourth Circuit. Is it wise politically for Obama to load the federal bench with left-liberals? A bi-partisan panel at the Heritage Foundation recently answered that question in the negative, according to this report by Quin Hillyer. The liberal...

Washington, DC -- President Barack Obama has nominated his first pro-abortion judicial candidate as he named David Hamilton as his first Appeals Court nominee. Hamilton is a former Clinton nominee whom Obama has appointed to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Hamilton was initially appointed by President Clinton to a district judgeship in Indiana in 1994 even though the ABA gave him a “not qualified” rating. In that position, Hamilton issued a series of rulings over seven years that prevented Indiana from implementing its informed consent law that would give women information about abortion's risks and alternatives.

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...

Barack Obama has selected a leftist, David Hamilton, to be his first nominee for the federal bench. Hamilton is Obama's nominee for a spot on the Seventh CIrcuit Court of Appeals. Appropriately enough, Hamilton reportedly was once a former fund-raiser for the radical activist outfit ACORN, a key Obama ally. He is also a former leader of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU. Hamilton's record as a federal district judge confirms his ultra-liberalism. Recently, he invalidated a law requiring the registration of sex offenders.

INDIANAPOLIS - A federal judge on Wednesday barred the Indiana House from opening its sessions with specifically Christian prayers, ruling that such prayers amount to "an official endorsement of the Christian religion." Judge David Hamilton advised House Speaker Brian Bosma that invocations given in the Legislature should not use the name of Jesus Christ or Christian terms such as savior. Of 53 opening prayers given in the House during the 2005 session, 41 were given by clergy identified with Christian churches and at least 29 mentioned Jesus Christ, according to court documents. Hamilton said that practice "amounts in practical terms...