Moments after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement June 27, the media went rife with speculation on possible replacements, including Indian American jurist Amul Thapar, who currently serves on the Sixth Circuit of Appeals. President Donald Trump told reporters after Kennedy’s announcement that a search for a replacement would begin immediately. Fox News hinted at the president’s shortlist of six possibilities, all federal court judges including Thapar, Thomas Hardiman, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Joan Larsen and Raymond Kethledge. Hardiman and Thapar were finalists for the seat that went to Justice Neil Gorsuch — more than a year after the abrupt death of Justice Antonin Scalia — and were personally interviewed by the president, according to Fox News. Thapar is the first Indian American to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the second Indian American federal appellate court judge in U.S. history. He is a friend of Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. The Alliance for Justice has dubbed him “ultraconservative.” The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights – now led by Indian American civil rights activist Vanita Gupta beginning in June – noted in May 2017 as Thapar was undergoing his Senate confirmation process for the Appeals Court seat that the jurist had a history of controversial rulings, including a case in which he allowed a diabetic inmate to continue to be denied insulin. Thapar also sentenced three pacifists — including an 82-year-old nun — to lengthy prison terms after they broke into a nuclear power plant in Oakridge, Tennessee, and spray-painted peace slogans, noted the Leadership Conference. But the South Asian Bar Association of North America and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association have lauded the judge. Vichal Kumar, president of SABA-NA, noted last May after the Senate confirmation: "Judge Thapar's confirmation further cements his legacy as a pioneer, esteemed jurist and dedicated public servant. We anticipate that Judge Thapar's renowned dedication to his craft and commendable judicial temperament will serve him well in this integral position." (See earlier India-West story here.) SABA awarded Thapar its Pioneer Award in 2010. NAPABA awarded Thapar its Trailblazer Award in 2015. As the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2006-2007, Thapar was appointed to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, where he chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and Child Exploitation working group. Thapar has also worked for the law firms of Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C.; and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his J.D. from UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law. During his confirmation hearing on April 28, 2017, Thapar noted that though the Federalist Society and the conservative Heritage Foundation had named him as a possible Supreme Court nominee on a list prepared for then-candidate Trump, he had no allegiance to either organization. “I’m my own judge, and I hope my track record speaks to that,” he said. Several Democratic leaders, including Indian American Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, are urging McConnell to delay movement on any Supreme Court nominee until after the November elections. “The midterms are in just four months. We cannot and we should not vote on a nominee until after the American people have a chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box,” said Harris in a fundraising e-mail, announcing she was leading a petition drive to delay a possible vote. She claimed Trump’s list of possible candidates were all “non-starters.”