Bush nominates alumnus to Court of Appeals

He started out as a Hawkeye and then switched to a Hoosier.

He went from moot court champion to lawyer to district judge to nominee, up for one of the most elite positions in the U.S. judicial system.

President Bush recently nominated IU alumnus Philip Simon to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Lauren Robel, dean of the IU School of Law, said she is very happy for Simon.
“Phil Simon is a spectacular judge,” she said. “I’m thrilled for the country. I think he will do a terrific job.”

Since 2003, Simon, a graduate of the law school class of 1987, has served as the U.S. District Court Judge in the Northern District of Indiana, located in Hammond, according to the White House Web site.

He has also served as an associate at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Indiana and professor at the Valparaiso University School of Law.

From the beginning of his legal career at IU in the mid 1980s, Simon had success in the courtroom as a moot court champion.

Since graduating from IU, Simon has come back to Bloomington to serve as a moot judge and continues to stay involved in helping future legal minds.

Joseph Hoffmann, professor of law, came to IU in 1986 and served as the adviser for the group, which debated cases in front of active judges.

Hoffmann, who got to know Simon during his time at IU, said he thinks his former student is an outstanding nominee for the job.

“He’s a wonderfully qualified person for a post like this,” Hoffmann said.

The nomination is also the first for one of Hoffmann’s students. The nomination will now go to a hearing of the senate judiciary committee for approval. If approved, the decision will then rest with the full senate.

Feisal Istrabadi, Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations and visiting professor of law, said with the election being so close, it could have an effect on the selection because there is such a short time before the next president takes office.

Istrabadi graduated from the IU School of Law a year after Simon and served as a lawyer in Simon’s courtroom on multiple occasions.

Although Istrabadi only knows Simon from a professional perspective, he said Simon impressed him.

“I wish him the best,” Istrabadi said. “He has a very professional demeanor and is very respectful of the parties and lawyers practicing in front of him. He had a perfect judicial demeanor.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Simon will go to the seventh circuit, which Istrabadi said is one of the most respected courts of the 13 circuit courts in the nation. Since many cases do not reach the Supreme Court, Simon could have his hands full.

The last time the Senate considered Simon, they voted unanimously 97-0 in March of 2003 to confirm him as a judge in the Northern District of Indiana.

Hoffmann said he is eagerly anticipating what happens next.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment, and it will be more exciting with the confirmation,” he said.