1. Miguel Angel Estrada Castaneda was born on September 25,1961 and is a Honduran-American attorney who became embroiled in controversy following his 2001 nomination by President George W Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
From 1990 until 1992, Miguel Estrada served as assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Miguel Estrada represented the government in numerous jury trials and in many appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Miguel Estrada received a unanimous "well-qualified" rating from the American Bar Association.
At the time of his nomination, Miguel Estrada had earned the public support of a bipartisan range of individuals and groups that included Ron Klain, counsel to former Vice President Al Gore and future White House Chief of Staff to Joe Biden; Seth Waxman, Clinton administration Principle Deputy Solicitor General; the Fraternal Order of Police; the League of United Latin American Citizens; the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Additionally, though a member of The Federalist Society, Miguel Estrada had never been an academic, so there was no record of his writing by which the Senate could review his record.
Miguel Estrada had been a partner in the same law firm as Theodore Olson, working on the legal team that represented George W Bush in the Bush v Gore case.
Miguel Estrada was a friend of Ann Coulter, who acknowledged him in her book.
Miguel Estrada had represented Virginia death row inmate Tommy David Strickler before the Supreme Court, pro bono.
Miguel Estrada unsuccessfully argued a new trial should be granted because the prosecution had withheld evidence that could raise questions as to the credibility of a key eyewitness.
Miguel Estrada appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 26,2002.
Miguel Estrada responded, "'My view of the judicial function, Senator Feinstein, does not allow me to answer that question'".
Miguel Estrada added, "'I have had no particular reason to go back and look at whether was right or wrong as a matter of law, as I would if I were a judge that was hearing the case for the first time'".
Miguel Estrada stated that Roe "'is the law as it was refined by the Casey case, and I will follow it'".
Under further questioning, Miguel Estrada admitted that it was possible that he had made such a conclusion regarding a clerkship applicant.
Democrats argued that Miguel Estrada had extreme right-wing views, although others pointed to Miguel Estrada's difference with some conservatives on Commerce Clause issues.
However, the Miguel Estrada filibuster was the first filibuster of any court of appeals nominee.
Miguel Estrada joined Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign as a legal adviser.
In May 2010, Miguel Estrada wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of President Barack Obama's nominee to the US Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, as Miguel Estrada and Kagan have remained friends since meeting as students at Harvard Law School.
At Kagan's June 29,2010 confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, when asked whether she believed that Miguel Estrada was qualified to serve on an appellate court, Kagan responded affirmatively and added that she believed Miguel Estrada was qualified to serve on the Supreme Court as well.
In March 2017, Miguel Estrada was mentioned as a potential nominee for the position of solicitor general in the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.
At that time, Miguel Estrada told The National Law Journal that he would not accept such a nomination.
Miguel Estrada was married to Laury Gordon Miguel Estrada until her death at age 46 on November 28,2004.
Miguel Estrada died of an accidental overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills, having miscarried during Estrada's judicial nomination fight.