Detroit NRI Judge Amul Thapar on President Trump’s Short List for Supreme Court

Los Angeles, Sep. 14, 2020

NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh

 As of Sep. 09, 2020, Trump has appointed 205 federal judges including two Supreme Court nominees, according to a spokeswoman for the Senate Judiciary Committee.

President Donald Trump issued an updated list of 20 potential conservative nominees for the Supreme Court, a move meant to energize his base even though there is no current vacancy on the high court.

Despite the new list, a source close to the process says that two judges, Barrett and Thapar, would be top contenders for a seat.

Trump nominated Thapar to the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. He served in government as well as private practice.

In 2007, Thapar was the first American of South Asian descent to be named to an Article III federal judgeship.

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US Senate voted by 52-44 to confirm NRI Judge Amul Thapar to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

May 25, 2017: The Senate voted to confirm Judge Amul Thapar to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.The vote was 52-44.

Democrats raised concerns about his affiliation with the Federalist Society, a right-leaning legal organization.

Amul Thapar a favorite of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), confirmation marked the first judicial nominee aside from now-Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court for Trump

McConnell said:

• He has a reputation as a qualified judge with an impressive legal mind
• He will fairly apply the law to all who enter his courtroom because, in Judge Thapar’s own words, ‘the most important attribute of a judge is to be open-minded and not to prejudge a case without reading the briefs, researching the law, and hearing from the parties

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	Location Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse Cincinnati, Ohio Appeals from Eastern District of Kentucky Western District of Kentucky Eastern District of Michigan Western District of Michigan Northern District of Ohio Southern District of Ohio Eastern District of Tennessee Middle District of Tennessee Western District of Tennessee Established December 10, 1869

Trump picks federal judge NRI Amul Thapar for elevation to an appeals court

Washington,, March 20, 2017
NRIpress.club/K.Khare

Detroit, MI Born, (Non-Resident Indian) NRI Amul Roger Thapar, 46,   a United States District Judge  was appointed for a seat on the U.S. of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Trump.

March 04, 2016- U.S. Judge Amul Thapar is the first South Asian Article III judge. Prior to his confirmation, he served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and in the District of Columbia.

• 2007: Federal Judicial Service: he was nominated Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky by George W. Bush to a seat vacated by Joseph M. Hood. Confirmed by the Senate on December 13, 2007, and received commission on January 4, 2008.
• 2002-2006- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Ohio
• 2001-2002,  Private practice, Cincinnati, Ohio
• 2000-2001, General counsel, Equalfooting.com
• 1999-2000, Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Columbia. Trial advocacy instructor, Georgetown University Law Center
• 1997-1999, Private practice, Washington, D.C., 1997-1999
• 1995-1997/2002-2006 , Adjunct professor, University of Cincinnati College of Law.
• 1994-1996 Law clerk, Hon. S. Arthur Spiegel, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
  

Amul Roger Thapar was  born on April 29, 1969 at Detroit, Michigan. He received his BS from Boston College in 1991 and graduated from University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D., in 1994
Thapar became popular when:

• he led the Southern Ohio Mortgage Fraud Task Force, which successfully prosecuted approximately 40 perpetrators of mortgage fraud.
• he led the successful investigation and prosecution of a conspiracy ring to provide illegal aliens with fraudulent driver's licenses.
• In 2013, Thapar was assigned to a case in the Eastern District of Tennessee due to the impending retirement of Judge Thomas Phillips from the Knoxville court. The case involved a high-profile break-in by peace protesters at the Y-12 National Security Complex's Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility in July 2012.The three protesters, aged 57 to 82, were convicted. On May 10, 2013, Thapar cited the definition of the federal crime of terrorism to keep the protesters in jail until their sentencing on February 18, 2014. Thapar sentenced one of the defendants, 84-year-old nun Megan Rice, to 35 months in prison for breaking into the U.S. nuclear weapons complex and using blood to deface a bunker holding bomb-grade uranium.

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Trump to nominate Indian-American judge for 2nd highest court

Washington, March 21 (IANS) US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he is nominating Indian-American federal judge Amul Thapar for elevation to an appeals court, the second highest level of the US judiciary.

Appeals courts are just below the Supreme Court. Thapar was on the shortlist of Trump's picks for the Supreme Court that was announced during last year's election campaign.

Describing him as "the son of Indian-American immigrants", and the first federal district judge of South Asian descent, the White House said that if confirmed by the Senate, Thapar will join the bench of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the two important states of Michigan and Ohio, in addition to Kentucky and Tennessee.

Thapar, 47, will be the second person from the community at the appellate court level, joining Judge Sri Srinivasan, who was appointed by the then President Barack Obama to the powerful bench that covers Washington.

Thapar is currently a federal judge in Kentucky, appointed by the then President George W. Bush in 2007.

The likelihood of Thapar's confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate is very strong and he has the strong backing of the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has described him as "a friend."

His full name is Amul Roger Thapar. He has a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and was a federal prosecutor in Kentucky before he was made a judge.

McConnell, who disclosed on Monday Trump's plan to nominate Thapar, said in a statement: "I applaud the President for announcing his intent to nominate my friend, Judge Amul Thapar, to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Throughout his already impressive career of public service, Amul has shown an incredible intellect and an unshakable dedication to the law."

McConnel said he looked forward to Thapar's confirmation by the Senate, saying: "He has earned the respect of his colleagues, and I know that he will bring to the Sixth Circuit the same wisdom, fairness, and ability that he has shown on the District Court."

South Asian Bar Association President Vichal Kumar welcomed the nomination and called him a "respected and thoughtful jurist who has long served as role model for the South Asian and greater legal community".

Srinivasan was on Obama's short list of candidates for the Supreme Court. However, Obama finally appointed Merrick Garland to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Garland's nomination was not taken up by the Senate and it lapsed. Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch for the vacancy and Senate took it up for consideration on Monday.

There are likely to be other vacancies on the bench where there are three judges over the age of 77. Should a vacancy arise, Thapar is a stronger contender to be on the short list of candidates for the vacancy.