Barack Obama's presidency may continue to change history on the front of racial intergration with talk that Indian-born Supreme Court nominee, Padmanabhan Srikanth "Sri" Srinvasan, could take his seat upon the highest court in the land.
Obama, who changed history by becoming America's first African-American president, reportedly favours Srinivasan, a US District Circuit Judge, which could make him the first South Asian US Supreme Court judge.
Srinivasan, 48, was the first US Circuit judge of South Asian descent to be appointed back in 2013, by President Obama.
The tip for Supreme Court justice was spurred by CNN senior legal analyst and writer for 'The New Yorker', Jeffrey Toobin, who wrote a feature on Srinivasan's appointment to the DC Circuit Court in 2013. On Saturday, he took to Twitter.
In his essay for 'The New Yorker', Toobin predicted Srinivasan would "be on the Supreme Court before President Obama's term ends."
Toobin also predicted Ruth Bader Ginsburg would mostly likely retire by the end of 2016, and if she did, Obama would be pressured to choose a female replacement for the bench instead.
However, almost three years since Toobin's editorial, Justice Ginsberg appears unlikely to retire, leaving Srinivasan as Toobin's (and Obama's) top pick for the Supreme Court, given Scalia's recent passing.
The District Circuit Court is viewed as what Toobin called "a Supreme Court farm team", where future judges are selected to join the nation's top judiciary body.
The other short-listed candidates include fellow DC Circuit judges Paul Watford, Patricia Ann Millett, Merrick Garland, and Obama's Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Srinivasan was born in Chandigarh, India, to a Tamil family and moved to Kansas in the late '60s as a toddler.
Srikanth Srinivasan with his daughter Maya (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
After earning a bachelor's degree from Stanford University, he continued his studies there, completing a joint JD/MBA degree from Stanford Law and Business schools.
His career highlights include clerk at the United States Court of Appeals, partner at international law firm O'Melveny & Myers, lecturing at Harvard Law School, and presenting more than 25 cases before the Supreme Court as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States.
Justice Antonin Scalia died in his sleep on Saturday at the age 79. He was a staunch Constitutionalist.
Senate Confirmation Hearing For Srikanth Srinivasan For U.S. Circuit Judge in 2013. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
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