… and thus far, it looks like a refreshingly good pick for those of us who believe in the separation of church and state.

Here are some of the details:

—– With Pick Of Judge, Obama Begins Reshaping Bench (Larry Margasak/The Associated Press; March 17)

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama nominated a moderate Indiana judge Tuesday to serve on a Midwestern federal appeals court, his first step toward reshaping the federal judiciary and preparing for a possible Supreme Court opening.

The White House chose U.S. District Judge David Hamilton of Indiana for the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, contending Hamilton was a mainstream jurist who could overcome the bitter Senate confirmation fights of the past several years.

Obama has 15 federal appellate vacancies to fill, including the 7th Circuit court that covers Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois. Since most cases do not reach the Supreme Court, the 12 geographically based federal appellate circuits often provide the last word on a variety of issues affecting Americans.

Their decisions cover, among other issues, civil rights and liberties, capital punishment, abortion, gay rights, corporate wrongdoing, review of federal regulations and treatment of detainees in terrorism cases.

Three of the appeals courts can gain a majority of Democratic-appointed judges if Obama’s nominees are confirmed for existing vacancies….

The White House acted before Hamilton’s nomination to make sure that his home-state Republican senator, Dick Lugar, was on board. Lugar’s office confirmed that he supports the nomination.

Conservative Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Orrin Hatch of Utah said they haven’t formed an opinion yet on Hamilton, while another GOP conservative, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, said he was troubled by Hamilton’s ruling against a sectarian prayer to open the Indiana House of Representatives.

That ruling was in 2005, when Hamilton banned the practice of opening the chamber’s business with prayers mentioning Jesus Christ or using terms such as savior. He said that amounted to state endorsement of a religion. If confirmed by the Senate, Hamilton will serve on the circuit appeals court that overturned the ruling.

In 2003, he struck down part of an Indiana law on abortion. The law had required abortion clinics to give women information about alternatives to abortion in the presence of a physician or nurse, 18 hours before the procedure. The 7th Circuit court also reversed that decision….

Lugar’s support for Hamilton would make it difficult for Republicans to filibuster his nomination, because Democrats would only need two GOP senators to stop the delaying tactic. Attorney General Eric Holder and two top deputies had opposition from Republican conservatives, but they easily won Senate confirmation with significant Republican backing.

The American Bar Association, resuming its historical role in evaluating judicial nominees, gave Hamilton a “well qualified” rating. During the Bush administration, the ABA was not consulted about judicial selections.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama will look for nominees with “the ability to empathize and walk in someone’s shoes.”…

You can learn more about Hamilton and the reaction his nomination is generating here, here, and here.