Getting To Know Potential Trump SCOTUS Pick, PA's Judge Thomas Hardiman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13 of last year. The eight member supreme court has been with a vacancy since, but on Tuesday night, the President says he'll fill that spot and a Pennsylvania judge is rumored to be on the top of the list.
President Donald Trump is set to make an announcement that will impact Americans years after he leaves office.
"A person who is unbelievably highly respected and I think you will be very impressed with this person," President Trump said of his selection.
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Sources tell CBS News that one possibility is Federal Judge Neil Gorsuch based in Denver. He famously sided with Hobby Lobby that employers should not be required to provide contraception for women under Obamacare.
Then, there's Pennsylvania Federal Appeals Court Judge Thomas Hardiman. He sits on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia, but he works out of Pittsburgh.
"He is outstanding, really in every way," said Attorney Chip Becker. He is an attorney with Kline Spector in Philadelphia. He argues cases on the federal level and knows Judge Hardiman personally.
"I've argued before Judge Hardiman several times and I've both won cases and lost cases before him and based on that experience, I would say that he's an excellent judge," Becker said.
Hardiman is seen as a solid conservative with a pro-law enforcement background. The 51-year-old sits on the same court as President Trump's older sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry. She has reportedly advocated on the judge's behalf to her brother. Becker's late father was a colleague of both Hardiman and Trump Barry.
"Judge Trump Barry is just a great person in every way and Judge Hardiman is really a great person so, it would be shocking to me if their relationship were anything other than warm, or cordial," Becker said.
Hardiman has already been nominated and confirmed twice, once as a district judge then, again as a circuit judge' a sign that a supreme court confirmation might be smooth.
