David Frank Hamilton (born May 5, 1957) is a
Senior United States circuit judge
In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
. He was previously a United States district judge of the
. On March 17, 2009, he became President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's first judicial nominee when he was named for a seat on the Seventh Circuit. He was confirmed by the Senate on November 19, 2009, in a 59–39 vote.
Early life, education, and career
Born in
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
, Hamilton grew up in southern Indiana and earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from
Haverford College in 1979, followed by a
Juris Doctor from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
in 1983.
He also performed graduate work as a
Fulbright Scholar at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W ...
in Germany.
Hamilton worked from 1983 until 1984 as a law clerk for Judge
Richard Dickson Cudahy
Richard Dickson Cudahy (February 2, 1926 – September 22, 2015) was an American business executive, law professor, and United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Education and career
Born in Milwa ...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
[ He then entered private practice in Indianapolis until 1989 as an associate at the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg. He served as Legal Counsel to ]Indiana Governor
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state government ...
Evan Bayh
Birch Evans Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011 and the 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.
Bayh ...
from 1989 until 1991.[ Hamilton returned to Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis, working as a partner from 1991 until becoming a federal judge in 1994.] During his time in private practice, Hamilton frequently did pro bono work for the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, where he served briefly as a board member and Vice President for Litigation.
Federal judicial service
District court service
President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
nominated Hamilton to be a United States district judge of the on June 8, 1994. The Senate confirmed Hamilton by a voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...
on October 7, 1994. He received his commission on October 11, 1994.[ Hamilton was the chief judge of the Southern District of Indiana from January 1, 2008 to November 24, 2009. His service as a district court judge was terminated on November 24, 2009 when he was elevated to the ]United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
.[
A number of cases Hamilton decided as a district court judge drew media attention. In ''American Amusement Mach. Ass'n v. Cottey'', Hamilton held that the ]First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
did not prevent the city of Indianapolis from requiring parental consent
Parental consent laws (also known as parental involvement laws) in some countries require that one or more parents consent to or be notified before their minor child can legally engage in certain activities.
Parental consent may refer to:
*A pa ...
for children to have access to video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s containing explicit sexual content or extreme violence. This ruling was overturned by the Seventh Circuit.
Hamilton drew headlines in 2005 for ruling that the Indiana state legislature
The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. ...
violated the Establishment Clause when it began sessions with Christian prayers imploring conversion to Christianity or representing Christianity as the only true faith. He held that prayers invoking Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
or using terms like savior
Savior or Saviour may refer to:
*A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something
Religion
* Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years
* Maitreya
* Messiah, a saviour or l ...
were sectarian, but names for God in other languages were permissible, absent evidence that those words were used in order to advance or disparage a particular religion. The ruling was overturned by the Seventh Circuit on the ground that the taxpayer plaintiffs lacked standing.
Court of appeals service
On March 17, 2009, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
announced his intention to nominate Hamilton to a vacancy on the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of Ill ...
that was created by Judge Kenneth Francis Ripple
Kenneth Francis Ripple (born May 19, 1943) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Education and career
Ripple was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received an Artium Baccalaure ...
, who assumed senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
in September 2008. Obama formally nominated Hamilton later that day. He became President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's first judicial nominee when he was named for a seat on the Seventh Circuit. On November 17, 2009, the Senate voted 70–29 to invoke cloture on his nomination. On November 19, 2009, the Senate confirmed Hamilton's nomination by a 59–39 vote. He received his commission on November 23, 2009.[ On December 1, 2021, he announced his intent to assume ]senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
upon confirmation of a successor. He assumed senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on December 5, 2022.[
]
Notable opinions
*In March 2017, Hamilton partially dissented when the circuit found that police officers could not be sued for needlessly destroying property during a search because they had prevented the owner from witnessing which officers had caused the damage and that the owner had not pled a novel “ conspiracy of silence” claim.
*In December 2017, Hamilton authored the majority opinion in ''Dassey v. Dittmann'', which denied Brendan Dassey's habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
petition to have his murder conviction thrown out because, his lawyers argued, it was based on a coerced false confession
A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interroga ...
. Dassey's confession had become the source of national outrage when portions of it were aired in the Netflix miniseries Making a Murderer
''Making a Murderer'' is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in pri ...
. Brendan Dassey was sixteen at the time of the confession, and had an IQ of approximately 80. Despite noting the numerous inconsistencies and troubling procedural problems with the confession, Hamilton, along with three Conservative judges on the 7th Circuit en banc appeals court, decided that the confession was a viable piece of evidence and that Dassey's murder conviction should stand.
*On August 27, 2019, Hamilton wrote the majority opinion in blocking Indiana's parental notification requirement. Hamilton was joined by Ilana Rovner
Ilana Kara Diamond Rovner (born August 21, 1938) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Rovner was the first woman appointed to the Seventh Circuit. She was previously a United States distr ...
, over the dissent of Michael Stephen Kanne. On November 1, 2019, the seventh circuit denied rehearing by a vote of 6–5, with Hamilton in the majority, however Frank Easterbrook
Frank Hoover Easterbrook (born September 3, 1948) is an American lawyer, jurist, and legal scholar who has served as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 1985. He was the Seventh Circuit's chief ...
, who provided the decisive vote, called on the Supreme Court to hear the case.
*On August 29, 2019, Hamilton was one of 3 judges that upheld Illinois' assault weapon ban.
*On February 24, 2020, Hamilton authored the majority opinion in ''Viamedia v. Comcast'', a case dealing with a contentious doctrine in American antitrust law known as refusal to deal
Though in general, each business may decide with whom they wish to transact, there are some situations when a refusal to deal may be considered an unlawful anti-competitive practice, if it prevents or reduces competition in a market. The unlawful ...
. Although the opinion was not based on a trial and only allowed Viamedia to proceed with its monopolization
In United States antitrust law, monopolization is illegal monopoly behavior. The main categories of prohibited behavior include exclusive dealing, price discrimination, refusing to supply an essential facility, product tying and predatory pricing ...
claims against Comcast, some antitrust scholars believe the case could "breathe life" into refusal to deal claims, which have generally lost favor following the Supreme Court's decision in Verizon Communications Inc. v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, LLP.
*On December 17, 2021, Hamilton dissented in a 7-3 decision that ruled that a police officer who stopped a car because it was following another car too closely and then searched the car for drugs did not violate the 4th amendment. Hamilton showed concern that the 7th circuit's ruling could allow a police officer to detain someone at a basic traffic stop until the officer is satisfied.
Family
Hamilton's brother, John Hamilton, has served as the mayor of Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...
since 2016 He is married to Dawn Johnsen
Dawn Elizabeth Johnsen (born August 14, 1961) is an American lawyer and the Walter W. Foskett Professor of Constitutional law, on the faculty at Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She previously served in the Bi ...
, whose nomination to serve as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General's position as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the Attorney ...
in the United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
was blocked by the Senate. His father, Richard "Dick" Hamilton is a retired United Methodist
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
minister who served the North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis for many years. Hamilton is a nephew of former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton.
See also
*Barack Obama judicial appointment controversies
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congress ...
* Boika v. Holder
References
External links
*
*
Recent opinions
by Chief Judge David F. Hamilton, from the ''United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana''
at the ''Alliance for Justice''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, David Frank
1957 births
Living people
20th-century American judges
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American judges
Haverford College alumni
Indiana lawyers
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
People from Bloomington, Indiana
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Barack Obama
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
Yale Law School alumni
Fulbright alumni