The body of judge Antonin Scalia of the US Supreme Court is barely cold after his death during a hunting trip and US politicians are bickering over the nomination of his successor. Battle lines are already drawn on the succession since 2016 is an election year in which Barack Obama is being viewed in political circles as a lame duck President.
He would have to break the shackles of partisan politics if he is to do his constitutional duty and ensure the Supreme Court has its full complement of nine judges at a time when major issues are hanging fire.
India’s interest in the filling of the vacancy, which rarely occurs as US apex court judges are appointed for life, is accentuated by the possibility of an Indian American being elevated to the bench for the first time. Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (equivalent of an Indian high court) Sri Srinivasan is an obvious candidate at the head of the line.
The brilliant lawyer, whose roots can be traced to Tamil Nadu, home of his parents, and Chandigarh where he was born, is a moderate with bipartisan support. His candidature for the circuit court received a ringing 97-0 endorsement in the Senate.
The Republicans seem bent on politicising the issue, quoting the absence of precedent in an election year vacancy. But they are wrong there, according to American history. It would seem logical that a tightly-strung top court with four conservatives and four liberals should find the balance in a natural arithmetic majority in odd numbers, with a moderate candidate at that.
