I will vote no" on the confirmation of Judge David Hamilton."
WASHINGTONU.S. Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas made the following statement prior to his vote on the nomination of Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:
I will not support Judge David Hamiltons elevation to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. After close review I believe Judge Hamiltons writings and statements show an unwillingness to serve as a neutral arbiter of the law" said Sen. Cornyn.
At the time he was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana the American Bar Association rated Judge Hamilton not qualified. This rating is still apt."
In numerous opinions written during his tenure on the District Court Judge Hamilton has displayed a lack of impartiality a disregard for precedent and a willingness to legislate from the bench. His writings also evince his propensity to value an understanding of the world from anothers point of view above an understanding of the facts of a case."
For instance in striking down Indianas popularly enacted informed-consent abortion law Judge Hamilton radically ruled that the law unconstitutionally imposed an undue burden on the right to an abortion because it allegedly forced women to make two trips to a clinic." A Womans Choice v. Newman 132 F.Supp.2d 1150 1151 (S.D. Ind. 2001).
In making this ruling Judge Hamilton flaunted the directly applicable precedents of the Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit. He also according to Seventh Circuit opinion that reversed his ruling relied on a faulty study by biased researchers who operated in a vacuum of speculation." A Womans Choice v. Newman 305 F.3d 684 689 (7th Cir. 2002)
Similarly in a case where a childs complaint to school officials about her mothers drug abuse led to the mothers arrest Judge Hamilton suppressed the drug evidence against the mother on the ground that the police had violated her substantive due process right to family integrity. United States v. McCotry 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62777 (S.D. Ind. July 13 2006).
To reach this conclusion Judge Hamilton ignored controlling Seventh Circuit law and relied instead on the dissenting opinions of Ninth Circuit judges. And when the Seventh Circuit reversed Judge Hamilton it chastised him for not properly considering the wrongs of the mother in the case who risked her relationship with her nine-year old daughter by dealing drugs." United States v. Hollingsworth 495 F.3d 795 803 n.3 (7th Cir. 2007).
In these cases and many more Judge Hamilton has shown an unvarnished result-orientation and has confirmed his reputation as one of the more liberal judges in the district. Almanac of the Federal Judiciary. This record has not earned him the honor of elevation to a higher court.
As President Obamas first nominee there is no doubt that Judge Hamilton possesses the empathy and desire to write footnotes to the Constitution" that catch the eye of liberal activists and partisan politicians. But these qualities are not ones that a Circuit Judge of the United States should possess. Accordingly I will vote no" on the confirmation of Judge David Hamilton."
