Federal Judge From Fox Chapel Could Get Supreme Court Nomination
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A federal judge from Fox Chapel could be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Tom Hardiman is said to be one of President Donald Trump's top two choices.
KDKA'S Julie Grant spoke to Duquesne University President Ken Gormley about Hardiman. Besides being a leading expert on constitutional law and the Supreme Court, Gormley is also Gardiman's friend.
They met in the 1990s when Hardiman applied for a job at the Pittsburgh law firm of Cindrich and Titus where Gormley was on the hiring committee.
"He was a very young lawyer just moving to Pittsburgh because his wife, Lori, is from Pittsburgh. I went in and talked to the managing partner, Bob Cindrich, and said we have to hire this guy immediately. He was just so obviously a superstar," said Gormley.
Quickly, Gormley and Hardiman became colleagues and friends.
"He's very down to earth. He grew up in a little town in Massachusetts where his Dad had a cab company and he drove a cab to put himself through school. He was the first one in his family to go to college and really had that working class background," said Gormley.
The two men moderated an event with Justice Clarence Thomas at Duquesne University in 2013.
According to Gormley, "He's as brilliant as they come in terms of a legal thinker, but he's also down to earth, no pretense, a lot of fun to be around, a great dad, soccer coach."
While he has a demanding job as a federal judge for the third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Gormley knows him to always be a family man first.
"He and I would talk on the phone regularly about interesting cases and things going on, but boy, if he had a sporting event to go to with one of his kids or something to do with his family he always carved out time and then would work until midnight," said Gormley.
Gormley describes Hardiman as conservative in his jurisprudence, careful in his decisions, and always wanting to do the right thing.
"He has the intellect that matches any of the best justices on the U.S. Supreme Court. But he also has that practical piece. He has been a trial judge, a trial lawyer and he cares about regular people," said Gormley.
Gormley believes Hardiman would make an excellent U.S. Supreme Court justice.
"He is just a first-rate intellect. He is a wonderful person. It would be a great thing for us in Pittsburgh, in Western Pennsylvania, but for the whole country for him to be on the Supreme Court," said Gormley.
Gormley said when he asked Hardiman to teach advanced constitutional law at Duquesne University's law school, Hardiman agreed, but refused to accept any money for it.
Instead, he asked the school to put it in a scholarship fund for students from working class backgrounds who need help with their education. Hardiman named the fund after his parents.
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