JD Journal » Jeff Sessions

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:57:53 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, September 13th. Here’s a quick recap of Friday’s stories.

The ACLU will represent defense lawyers against U.S. Homeland Security…

According to a CT TyMetrix Inc. and The Corporate Executive Board survey, billing rates in Washington, D.C. are the second highest in the U.S….

The Quellos Group owners pled guilty to fraud and tax evasion…

The “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was ruled unconstitutional in California’s 9th District…

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan disqualified herself from 10 more cases…

Law School admissions officers survey tells prospective students how to prepare…

Burleson Cooke added nine attorneys to its Pittsburgh office…

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to Recuse Herself from 11 More Cases

ashley — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:24:16 +0000

Already having recused herself from 11 cases, Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has disqualified herself from 10 more cases to be argued beginning October 4th. Kagan’s confirmation was historical; she brought the total of women to three, the most women on the Supreme Court in history, and she is also the youngest member.

Largely, the original cases Justice Kagan had excused herself from were cases upon which she was counsel of record as solicitor general before her confirmation in early August. This newer group of 10 cases represent ones Kagan had been involved in in their earlier stages. Two of the cases she will not participate in which she has signed no-participation slips are Premo v. Moore and County of Los Angeles v. Humphries.

In a letter to Alabama’s Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, Kagan wrote, “If I personally reviewed a draft pleading or participated in discussions to formulate the government’s litigating position, then I would recuse myself from a case.” Along with the previously mentioned cases, Kagan has recused herself from Henderson v. Shinseki, Thompson v. North American Stainless, Gould v. United States, Harrington v. Richter, Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, and Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics.

Kagan’s other 11 cases from which she previously recused herself are Abbott v. United States, Michigan v. Bryant, NASA v. Nelson. Flores-Villar v. Unitred States, United States v. Tohono O’odham Nation, Costco v. Omega, Staub v. Proctor Hospital, Williamson v. Mazda Motor Company of America, Sossamon v. Texas, Mayo Foundation v. United States, and Pepper v. United States.

Kagan Confirmation Nears Final Vote

joshua — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:47:21 +0000

The U.S. Senate made final arguments on whether to confirm Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan Tuesday and all signs indicate a final vote could come later this week.

The Associated Press called Kagan’s confirmation a near-certainty as all Democrats and even a “handful” of Republican Senators are on board with the Solicitor General’s nomination. She would become the fourth woman to serve on the nation’s high court.

Kagan’s biggest critic Tuesday was Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who questioned her qualifications and said Kagan would seek to push her own agenda rather than be an objective judge.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., countered that Kagan’s views are “mainstream” and that she has “demonstrated her respect for the rule of law, her appreciation for the separation of powers, and her understanding of the meaning of our Constitution.”

Kagan would replace retired Justice John Paul Stevens, who was a leader of the court’s liberal wing.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:47:10 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, July 14th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

DLA Piper was ranked first by deal volume in global mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2010…

A Cadwalader partner earned M&A Advisor Honor…

Reed Smith added four partners to its energy group…

Brownstein added two new partners to its practice…

The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed a preliminary vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan…

The Gibson law firm introduced a BP claims service…

Former U.S. Senator and HUD secretary Mel Martinez left DLA Piper for JP Morgan Chase & Co…

Senate Committee Delays Kagan Vote

joshua — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:20:24 +0000

As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday decided to delay for one week a preliminary vote on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

Reuters reports Republican committee member Jeff Sessions gained the one-week postponement by invoking his right as a member of the panel. Despite the delay in the preliminary vote, Kagan remains on track to be confirmed by the full Senate next month.

Kagan is under consideration to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. She completed four days of questioning by the Judiciary Committee on July 1.

According to Reuters, Republicans continue to question whether Kagan will be motivated more by politics than by law when serving the high court. As a result, her expected confirmation is likely to be along party lines.

Kagan Keeps It Cool On Day Two

joshua — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:46:43 +0000

Today was Day 2 of the Kagan confirmation hearings and here’s just a few of the highlights, according to an Associated Press summary…

Sen. Jeff Sessions took a strong stand against Kagan for the policy of barring military recruiters at Harvard Law when she served as the school’s dean. Kagan said the school actually welcomed the military through a student veterans group and the school’s policy, which was in place prior to her arrival, was a compromise with the school’s non-discrimination policy.

Sessions said Kagan’s response left him more even more “troubled” about her potential nomination.

–By most accounts, Kagan kept her cards close to her vest throughout the hearing with regards to specific legal issues or personal views, which came to the frustration of several Republicans. That included exchanges on abortion, gun rights, and how to interpret the Constitution.

–Kagan indicated she would support allowing Supreme Court proceedings to be televised. She called them “a great thing for the court…and for the American people.”

–Kagan defended her work on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission campaign-finance case that she argued on behalf of the Obama administration and lost, but would not say whether she thought the case was wrongly decided.

Things appear in order for Kagan to be confirmed prior to the court’s new term in October. In fact, even Republican Lindsey Graham told Kagan “your stock really went up with me.” She would replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

Senate Confirms Joseph Greenaway to 3rd Circuit

joshua — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:05:26 +0000

Joseph Greenaway has become the 15th Obama judicial nominee to win Senate confirmation. His nomination was cleared by the Senate judiciary committee in October, after being nominated last June, but Republican resistance to Obama’s nominees has stalled final confirmation. There have been no objections to Greenaway from either side of the aisle on competence or ideology and it appears that the delay was merely knee jerk opposition to the President.

Greenaway has been described as a centrist and even won praise from Alabama’s Jeff Sessions after Greenaway reaffirmed past comments he made in opposition to judicial activism. He will take the seat vacated by Justice Alito, after Alito’s appointment to the Supreme Court. In the four appeals from Greenaway’s lower court cases that Alito ruled on while sitting on the appellate court, Alito voted to uphold three of them, and Alito took a more liberal line than Greenaway on the fourth.

Greenaway was first appointed to the federal bench in 1996 by President Bill Clinton.

Filibuster on Hamilton is Over

joshua — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:03:52 +0000

The Senate voted on a cloture motion yesterday, ending debate on the appointment of Judge David Hamilton to the 7th Circuit. An up or down confirmation vote will happen in the next day or two, and will likely succeed.

Although Hamilton was President Obama’s first judicial nominee, he has not yet been confirmed and Senator Jeff Sessions (Alabama) tried to lead a filibuster. Sessions himself was nominated to a judicial post in the 80′s and was blocked by a Democrat filibuster. Several Republicans joined the Democrats yesterday to end debate on Hamilton including Saxby Chambliss (Georgia), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Richard Lugar (Indiana). Hamilton was originally appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1994.

GOP to Put AG Choice Through the Ringer

Erik Even — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:54:17 +0000

While no one expects the Senate to vote down the confirmation of Covington & Burling partner Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s next attorney general. But key Republican lawmakers are signalling that they do not intend to make it easy.

From Legal Times:

While congressional leaders negotiated behind closed doors over proposed loans to Detroit automakers, several Republicans took the floor Wednesday and Thursday to discuss Covington & Burling’s Eric Holder Jr. They called for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to delay the Jan. 8 confirmation hearing for Holder, who of late has been dogged by his involvement in pardoning fugitive financier Marc Rich in the waning hours of the Clinton administration.

But the comments from Republicans went further. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama questioned Holder’s fitness to be attorney general. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said he wanted to delve into Holder’s career in private practice. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma threatened to prevent a vote.

The likely motive behind the attacks on Holder is to extract concessions and compromises from the incoming Obama administration.

Holder was a deputy attorney general under Janet Reno in the Clinton Administration. If confirmed, he will be the first African-American attorney general.