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Monday, August 13, 2007
Ind. Courts - Federal judge John Tinder is described as fair, intelligent, thoughtful, modest
The Indianapolis Star has a feature today by Rob Schneider on SD Ind. federal Judge John D. Tinder, who has been nominated by President Bush to the 7th Circuit. Some quotes from the lengthy story, which also includes a side-bar listing some notable rulings:
Tinder's fellow judges on the federal bench sing his praises.See earlier ILB entries on Judge Tinder's nomination from July 17th and July 23rd.U.S. District Judge Larry McKinney, the chief district judge, said Tinder has a sense of humor that "brings perspective."
"It has the tendency to calm down an otherwise volatile discussion among the judges and give us some thoughts we hadn't considered," McKinney said.
"He was someone you could count on to be thoughtful in every sense of the word," added U.S. District Judge David Hamilton.
Tinder, he said, is good at thinking through an issue very carefully and adding a perspective that others might not have thought about.
Jason Basile, who served as a court clerk from 1998 to 2000, recalled Tinder was easily approachable, the kind of guy who often ate lunch with his staff and helped the clerks without making them feel like he was teaching.
"He was just extremely intelligent," Basile said. He never doubted that Tinder was the best lawyer in the room at any time.
"John Tinder has done everything," said Greg Garrison, a lawyer and radio talk show host on WIBC-AM (1070). "The guy is just a freaking journeyman. He knows everything.
"When he goes and sits down in one of those big plush chairs and starts thinking about the cosmos, he brings decades, a lifetime, of real-world experience to the bench."
Michael Gradison, a former executive director of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said there were times when he disagreed with Tinder's rulings, but he never doubted he would receive a fair hearing in Tinder's courtroom.
"We recognized he was a good judge," Gradison said. "I think he is a fine man."
Praise for Tinder from the likes of Gradison and Garrison, who are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, should serve him well during the confirmation process, according to Jeffrey W. Grove, a law professor and assistant dean of graduate studies at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.
In recent years, some judicial nominees have come under fire for being too liberal or too conservative, or for pushing policy preferences, Grove said.
"Tinder is an example of precisely the kind of judge about whom you simply can't find the basis for saying that sort of thing," he said.
Grove said Tinder is a good choice. "I think John will fit in and make a strong contribution to the reputation the court (7th Circuit) now has," he said. "John Tinder is known as a very independent judge who takes the cases one by one and does his best to resolve them in light of the facts and the basis of law."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 13, 2007 06:55 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts