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David Hamilton (Seventh Circuit)

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David Hamilton

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United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Education

Personal

David Frank Hamilton is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. He was nominated to the court by President Obama (D) and was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 19, 2009. He assumed senior status on December 5, 2022.^[1]

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the 7th Circuit, click here.

Prior to his service on the Seventh Circuit, Judge Hamilton was a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.^[1]

Biography

Education

Hamilton received his B.A. from Haverford College in 1979 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1983.^[1]

Professional career

2009-present: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- 2022-present: Senior judge
- 2009-2022: Judge
1994-2009: Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
1991-1994: Private practice, Indianapolis, Indiana
1989-1991: Counsel, Gov. Evan Bayh (D)
1984-1989: Private practice, Indianapolis, Indiana
1983-1984: Law clerk, Hon. Richard Cudahy, United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit^[1]

Judicial nominations and appointments

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: David Hamilton
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 247 days after nomination.
Nominated: March 17, 2009
ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
Hearing: April 1, 2009, April 29, 2009
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)

Reported: June 4, 2009
Confirmed: November 19, 2009
Vote: 59-39

Hamilton was the first judicial nominee from President Barack Obama. He was nominated to a position on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.^[2] He was nominated to succeed Kenneth Ripple, who elected to take senior status in 2008. The American Bar Association rated Hamilton Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.^[3] Hearings on Hamilton's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on April 1, 2009, and April 29, 2009, and Hamilton's nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on June 4, 2009. Hamilton was confirmed on a recorded 59-39 vote of the United States Senate on November 19, 2009, and he received his commission on November 23, 2009.^[1]^[4]

Southern District of Indiana

Hamilton was nominated to a seat on the Southern District of Indiana by President Bill Clinton on June 8, 1994, to a seat vacated by Judge Samuel Dillin. The American Bar Association rated Hamilton Majority Not Qualified, Minority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination.^[5] Hearings on Hamilton's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 21, 1994, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on September 28, 1994. Hamilton was confirmed in the U.S. Senate on a voice vote on October 7, 1994. He received his commission on October 11, 1994. Hamilton served as chief judge of the court from 2008 to 2009. He resigned his appointment on November 24, 2009, upon his elevation to the Seventh Circuit. Hamilton was succeeded in this position by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.^[1]^[6]

Noteworthy cases

Seventh Circuit panel holds percentage for attorneys' fees fixed at 25% of civil judgment

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (Charles Murphy v. Robert Smith and Gregory Fulk, No. 15-3384)

Pursuant to a successful civil lawsuit against two Illinois prison guards, Charles Murphy received a modified civil judgment in the amount of $307,733.82. A federal district court awarded attorneys' fees, ordering that 10% of the judgment be put towards paying those fees. A federal law, 42 U.S.C. §1997e(d)(2), states that "Whenever a monetary judgment is awarded in an action ... a portion of the judgment (not to exceed 25 percent) shall be applied to satisfy the amount of attorney’s fees awarded against the defendant." The district court interpreted that language to allow a discretionary percentage up to 25 percent to be earmarked for attorneys' fees. Such an interpretation was consistent with holdings in the Second, Third, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits. In an opinion by Judge David Hamilton, the Seventh Circuit reversed the district court, holding that the law did not allow for judicial discretion and mandated that 25 percent of the judgment be allocated for attorneys' fees.^[7] The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.

For more, see Murphy v. Smith

Sex offender registries and privacy rights (2008)

See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (John Doe, Steve Morris, et al., v. Prosecutor, Marion County, Indiana, et al., 1:08-cv-00436-DFH-TAB)

In 2008, Hamilton struck down an amendment to state law requiring convicted sex offenders to provide personal information such as email addresses to the authorities, permit searches of their home computers at any time, and to pay for a program that would monitor their internet use. Hamilton called the law unconstitutional and said that, "The ability of the individual to retreat into his home and therefore to be free from unreasonable intrusion by the government stands at the very core [of constitutional protections against unreasonable searches]."^[8]