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Will liberals oppose Srinivasan if nominated for SCOTUS? He would be court's first Hindu

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 11, 2016, 7:47 am CST

Liberal groups are unlikely to oppose federal appeals Judge Sri Srinivasan if he is nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite some misgivings when he was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

In 2013, liberals had pointed to Srinivasan’a defense of international companies accused of human-rights abuses and former Enron president Jeffrey Skilling, MSNBC reports. They also cited concerns that he was not firmly committed to workers’ rights. Now they are unlikely to object to a nominee given Republican opposition to even holding a hearing.

“I don’t think you’ll see a real public criticism” from liberals, said Caroline Fredrickson, president of the American Constitution Society, in an interview with MSNBC. “The stakes are so high. Scalia was so far to the right on almost everything.”

On the D.C. Circuit, Srinivasan sided with the Obama administration to uphold its labor protections for home care workers, a decision that “has assuaged some liberal worries,” according to the story.

Srinivasan, a former clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, would be the first Hindu and the first Asian American on the U.S. Supreme Court if he were nominated and confirmed, the Washington Post reports in a story about the Hindu faith. He was born in India and moved with his family to the United States as a child. He was sworn into the federal appeals court on the Bhagavad-Gita, a Hindu holy book.

Hinduism includes a belief in reincarnation and has many gods. Experts told the Post that Hinduism is a pluralistic faith with no dogmatic guidelines. Hindu texts vary across sects. For every scholar who says Hinduism condemns abortion or homosexuality, there are scholars who say the opposite.

Carleton College instructor Shana Sippy told the Post a Supreme Court appointment of Srinivasan would be a great source of pride to Hindus. “If he becomes a Supreme Court justice, there will be Indian American cultural celebrations where kids will dress up as him, just as they do as Indira Gandhi and famous scientists,” Sippy said.

Hat tip to How Appealing.

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