David Frank Hamilton (born May 5, 1957) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On March 17, 2009, he became President Barack Obama'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.
David Frank Hamilton
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Chief Judge — U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
Born 1957 in Bloomington, IN
FJC ID: 957
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 13/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 234/year
Indiana Southern District Court · 1994–2009Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals · 2009–
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Indianapolis, Indiana1984–1989, 1991–1994
- Gov. Evan Bayh, IndianaCounsel · 1989–1991
Law clerk , Hon. Richard Cudahy · 1983–1984
Appointments
- 2009–2022 · Appointed by Barack Obama (Democratic)
1994–2009 · Appointed by William J. Clinton (Democratic)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
J.D. · 1983- Haverford CollegeB.A. · 1979