Sri Srinivasan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sri Srinivasan
Official portrait, 2013
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office February 11, 2020
Preceded by	Merrick Garland
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office May 24, 2013
Nominated by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	A. Raymond Randolph
Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States
In office August 26, 2011 – May 24, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Neal Katyal
Succeeded by	Ian Heath Gershengorn
Personal details
Born	Padmanabhan Srikanth Srinivasan (1967-02-23) February 23, 1967 (age 58) Chandigarh, India
Spouse	Carla Garrett
Children	2
Education	Stanford University (BA, JD–MBA)

Padmanabhan Srikanth "Sri" Srinivasan was born on February 23, 1967. He is an American lawyer and judge who was born in India. Since 2020, he has been the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This court is very important because it often handles cases about the U.S. government.

Before he became a federal judge, Sri Srinivasan worked as a top lawyer for the U.S. government. He argued 25 cases in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court in the country. He also worked at a law firm called O'Melveny & Myers and taught law at Harvard Law School.

In 2016, President Barack Obama thought about nominating Srinivasan to the Supreme Court of the United States. This was after Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. However, President Obama chose Merrick Garland instead.

Early Life and Education

Sri Srinivasan was born in Chandigarh, India, on February 23, 1967. His family came to the United States in the late 1960s. His father was a Fulbright scholar, which means he received a special grant to study in another country. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley.

After a short time back in India, his family moved to the United States for good in 1971. Sri was four years old then. They settled in Lawrence, Kansas. His father became a math professor at the University of Kansas. His mother taught at an art school and later worked in the computer science department at the University of Kansas.

Srinivasan finished high school in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1985. He played basketball there with Danny Manning, who later became a famous NBA player. He then went to Stanford University and earned a degree in 1989.

From 1989 to 1991, he worked as an analyst for San Mateo County. After that, he studied law and business at Stanford Law School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He earned both degrees in 1995. While in law school, he was an editor for the Stanford Law Review.

Career

After law school, Sri Srinivasan worked as a law clerk for a judge. A law clerk helps a judge with legal research and writing. He worked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III from 1995 to 1996. He then had a special fellowship at the Department of Justice from 1996 to 1997. After that, he worked as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor from 1997 to 1998.

From 1998 to 2002, Srinivasan worked at a private law firm called O'Melveny & Myers. He then returned to the Office of the Solicitor General, where he worked from 2002 to 2007. He went back to O'Melveny & Myers in 2007 as a partner. A partner is a senior lawyer who helps run the firm.

Srinivasan also taught a course at Harvard Law School about arguing cases in front of the Supreme Court. In 2005, he received an award from the United States Department of Defense.

On August 26, 2011, Srinivasan became the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. This is a very important role where he helped represent the U.S. government in court. By May 2013, he had argued 25 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Early in his career, he also did pro bono work, which means he worked for free to help people. He helped presidential candidate Al Gore after the 2000 presidential election.

In 2013, he was part of the legal team that argued a case called United States v. Windsor before the Supreme Court. This case was about a law called the Defense of Marriage Act. He left the Solicitor General's office on May 24, 2013, when he became a federal judge.

Federal Judge Service

In June 2012, President Obama nominated Sri Srinivasan to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This court is often called the "D.C. Circuit." It is a very important court because it hears many cases involving the U.S. government.

His nomination was approved by the Senate on May 23, 2013, with a vote of 97–0. This means almost all senators agreed he should be a judge. He officially became a judge on May 24, 2013. He took his oath of office in June. At his official swearing-in ceremony in September, he took the oath on the Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita. He became the first federal appeals court judge of South Asian descent. On February 11, 2020, he became the Chief Judge of the D.C. Circuit.

Supreme Court Consideration

In April 2013, some news outlets suggested that Sri Srinivasan might be nominated by President Obama for the Supreme Court of the United States. If he had been nominated and confirmed, he would have been the first Indian American, first Asian American, and first Hindu person on the Supreme Court.

After Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in February 2016, many people thought Srinivasan was a top choice to fill the empty seat. However, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland instead. Some thought Srinivasan would have been a good choice because he was confirmed as a judge with a 97–0 vote, showing he had strong support from both political parties.

Personal Life

Sri Srinivasan lives in Arlington County, Virginia. He is married and has two children.

See also

• Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
• Joe Biden Supreme Court candidates
• List of Asian American jurists
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 8)