Sri Srinivasan — LLMpedia

Sri Srinivasan
United States Department of Justice · Public domain · source
Name	Sri Srinivasan
Birth date	1967
Birth place	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Judge, lawyer
Alma mater	Stanford University, Yale Law School
Office	Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Term start	2013

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Sri Srinivasan is an American jurist who has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2013. Born in Chennai and raised in Oakland, California, he built a legal career spanning private practice at O'Melveny & Myers and Williams & Connolly, high-level service at the United States Department of Justice, and appellate advocacy before the Supreme Court of the United States. Srinivasan was frequently discussed during the administration of Barack Obama as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Early life and education

Srinivasan was born in Madras (now Chennai) and emigrated with his family to the United States, where he grew up in Oakland, California. He graduated from Monta Vista High School and earned a bachelor's degree at Stanford University where he studied under faculty associated with Hoover Institution and Department of Political Science, Stanford University. Srinivasan received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School, where he was classmates with students who later served at United States Senate offices and federal agencies. After law school, he clerked for Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Srinivasan began his legal career at the firm O'Melveny & Myers and later joined Williams & Connolly, arguing cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and multiple federal courts of appeals. He served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General and later as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, where he worked on petitions and merits briefs in cases involving the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, administrative law matters arising from the Environmental Protection Agency, and challenges involving the Communications Decency Act. As Principal Deputy Solicitor General, he represented the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States in matters implicating the First Amendment and statutory interpretation, coordinating with offices in the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Srinivasan has worked alongside officials from the White House Counsel's Office and engaged with litigators experienced at firms such as WilmerHale and Covington & Burling.

Nominated by Barack Obama to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2012, Srinivasan was confirmed by the United States Senate and took his judicial oath in 2013. The D.C. Circuit, long regarded as a feeder to the Supreme Court of the United States and a key tribunal for disputes involving the Administrative Procedure Act and regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission, became the venue for Srinivasan's influential opinions. On the bench he has sat on panels with judges such as Patricia Millett, Karen Henderson, Janice Rogers Brown, and Douglas H. Ginsburg in deciding cases implicating statutes like the Clean Air Act and the Federal Arbitration Act.

Srinivasan's jurisprudence addresses administrative law, separation of powers, constitutional questions, and federal criminal procedure. In opinions and concurrences, he has engaged with precedents from the Supreme Court of the United States including doctrines developed in cases such as Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., Chevron deference disputes, and decisions under the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause. He has authored opinions evaluating agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act and has analyzed statutory text in light of cases like King v. Burwell and United States v. Nixon. Srinivasan has written on the standards for review of agency rulemaking affecting agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. His opinions often reference litigation histories involving parties represented by major firms including Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins, and draw on constitutional commentary associated with scholars at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.

During vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States in the Obama administration, Srinivasan was widely mentioned as a potential nominee alongside other candidates such as Merrick Garland, Goodwin Liu, Sri Srinivasan-excluded per instruction, and Sonia Sotomayor-era contemporaries. Press coverage and legal commentators at outlets referencing the American Bar Association and scholars from Stanford Law School and Georgetown University Law Center debated his prospects based on his D.C. Circuit record, clerkship for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and experience as Principal Deputy Solicitor General. His bipartisan support among some members of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and endorsements from figures connected to firms like Debevoise & Plimpton influenced public discussion about potential elevation to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Srinivasan is married and has a family; he has been recognized by organizations such as the American Bar Association and received professional honors often reported by outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and legal periodicals like The National Law Journal. He has been invited to speak at institutions such as Columbia Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, and Harvard Kennedy School. Srinivasan's background as an immigrant from India to the United States places him among notable jurists with roots in Tamil Nadu and connections to alumni networks at Stanford University and Yale Law School.

Category:Federal judges appointed by Barack Obama Category:American jurists Category:People from Chennai