Obama's First Judicial Pick

AP/ President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated an Indiana judge to serve on a Midwestern federal appeals court, his first act in reshaping the federal judiciary and preparing for a possible Supreme Court opening.

Obama's choice was a mainstream jurist.

The White House chose U.S. District Judge David Hamilton of Indiana for the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, contending Hamilton was a mainstream jurist who could overcome the bitter Senate confirmation fights of the past several years.

The importance of this choice.

Some Republicans were troubled by Hamilton's ruling against a sectarian prayer to open the Indiana House of Representatives.

That ruling was in 2005, when Hamilton banned the practice of opening the chamber's business with prayers mentioning Jesus Christ or using terms such as savior. He said that amounted to state endorsement of a religion. The circuit court where he would serve, if confirmed, overturned the ruling.

In 2003, he struck down part of an Indiana law on abortion. It required abortion clinics to give women information about alternatives to abortion in the presence of a physician or nurse, 18 hours before the procedure. The 7th Circuit court also reversed that decision.

Previous rulings by Hamilton cover issues ranging from pornography to corporate misdeeds. He:

Upheld an Indianapolis ordinance requiring parental consent for children to have access to video games with extreme violence, or explicit sexual content. The video game industry had challenged the law.

Held white-collar criminals accountable for corporate wrongdoing. He sentenced a former credit union head teller who embezzled $7 million to eight years and one month in prison, and ordered restitution. He sentenced a former real estate executive, who had written $217 in bad checks, to 6 1/2 years in prison.

Sentenced a child pornographer to 100 years in prison, a penalty upheld by the 7th Circuit.

Admitted into a case a surveillance video of drug defendants, even though the police did not have a warrant. The police did, however, have permission from a person with access to the room.

Struck down a state provision requiring sex offenders to provide authorities with personal information.

The American Bar Association gave Hamilton a "well qualified" rating, resuming its historic role in evaluating judicial nominees. The Bush administration had eliminated the ABA from its selection process.