The Department of Justice announced today that Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer would step down on March 1, 2013. Breuer was confirmed by the Senate on April 20, 2009, making him the longest serving AAG of the Criminal Division in modern times. Breuer participated on a panel on internal investigations at NAFUSA’s Atlanta conference in 2012. Click here to read the statement released by the Department.
Charlie Savage, a national security reporter for The New York Times has appeared at the past three NAFUSA conferences as the moderator or panel member on important topical issues. At NAFUSA’s New York conference in 2010, Savage, shown above at the podium, moderated the two hour panel discussion on “The Appropriate Forum to Prosecute Terrorism Cases.” Panel members included NAFUSA members Ken Wainstein and David Iglesias, together with U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, Eugene Fidell of Yale Law School and Matthew Waxman of Columbia Law School.
Savage continues his reporting on this important topic and on Sunday, January 27, He penned his first Sunday Review piece in The Times: Who Decides the Laws of War?
Savage writes of the dispute between Brig. Gen. Mark S. Martins, chief prosecutor of the military commissions system and the Obama administration. Martins is the lead prosecutor in the procedings against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others charged with aiding the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The issue, as Savage describes:
is it valid for the United States to use tribunals to charge idiosyncratic American offenses like “conspiracy,” even though they are not recognized as war crimes under international law?
The current dispute traces back to an appeals court ruling in October that vacated a tribunal’s verdict in 2008 against an Al Qaeda driver because his offense, “material support for terrorism,” was not a recognized international war crime at the time of his actions. The judges rejected the Justice Department’s argument that the charge was nevertheless valid under an American “common law of war” and because Congress had listed the crime as an offense for the tribunals in a 2006 statute.
General Martins pushed to abandon the conviction in another case which relied upon the charge of “conspiracy”, which is not recognized as an international war crime. He has, however, been overruled by Attorney General Eric Holder. General Martins refused to sign the Justice Department brief, but has been overruled by the Pentagon.
The issue is complicated by the action of Congress forbidding the prosecution of Guantanamo detainees in federal court, where they could be prosceuted for offenses such as conspiracy.
Savage quotes another of the NAFUSA New York panel members, Eugene Fidell:
“It’s tempting to view this as about General Martins, but it’s not,” he said. “Decisions about prosecuting detainees have become about what is feasible as opposed to what is rational. The constraints imposed by Congress are forcing officials into contorted positions which are particularly uncomfortable for military lawyers, who don’t want to get near the ‘third rail’ of destroying reciprocity.”
President Obama will nominate NAFUSA member Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. White served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York 1993-2002. After leaving office, she rejoined Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and became chair of the firm’s litigation department. She is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International College of Trial Lawyers. White has served as a director of The Nasdaq Stock Exchange and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
NAFUSA member B. Todd Jones has been nominated by President Obama to be the first permanent director of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) since 2006. Jones has been the acting director of ATF since August 2011. He has continued as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota and has served as the director of the Attorney General Advisory Committee (AGAC).
Jones took over the agency in the midst of the Fast and Furious controversy and, as reported in Huffpost Politics:
Jones tossed six of the top eight assistant directors at ATF’s fortress-esque headquarters in the northeastern part of Washington, D.C. He placed restrictions on undercover ATF operations and instituted monthly oversight on larger investigations. He has called his ATF gig the hardest job he’s ever had.
Asked whether agents would shy away from bigger gun trafficking cases because of worries such difficult cases could bring them under congressional scrutiny, Jones said the agency wouldn’t back down from tough investigations.
‘All we can do is get off the mat again and keep swinging,’ he said.
No president has been able to get a nominee for ATF through the Senate since 2006, the first year Senate confirmation was required for the director of ATF.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the appointment of Loretta E. Lynch, shown above, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC). Attorney General Holder also appointed Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, to serve as vice chair. Both appointments became effective Jan. 1, 2013.
Lynch was appointed to the AGAC in May 2010 and has served as vice chair since 2011. She replaces Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Lynch has also served as the chair for the Advisory Committee’s Office, Management and Budget Subcommittee.
Yates, shown above, was appointed to the AGAC in May 2010 and has served on several subcommittees including Civil Rights, White Collar Fraud, and Criminal Practice and Law Enforcement Coordination/Victim/Community Issues
Former Attorney General of the United States (1988-1991) and NAFUSA member Dick Thornburgh, shown above, has published an article in the January/February 2013, The Pennsylvania Lawyer entitled ‘Equal Justice Under Law’: The Role of the Pro Bono Lawyer.
Thornburgh writes:
The aspiration emblazoned upon the facade of the U.S. Supreme Court — “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW” — cannot be achieved in a society that does not provide competent counsel to all who require it. Those in need cannot be left to sink or swim in an increasingly complex legal environment. We can be proud of the steps taken over the years by the legal profession to meet their needs.
Thornburgh also served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania (1969-1975), Governor of Pennsylvania (1979-1987) and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations (1992-1993). He currently practices with K&L Gates in Washington.
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NAFUSA board member William J. Leone, shown above at the Atlanta conference, a partner in the Denver office of Fulbright & Jaworski, advised NAFUSA Update that his firm has entered into an agreement to combine with Norton Rose, a leading global legal practice. The combined firm will have 55 offices worldwide and 3,800 lawyers. It will be a top 10 global legal practice by gross revenue and by number of lawyers. The agreement is scheduled to be final on June 1, 2013, and the firm will be known as Norton Rose Fulbright.
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Fulbright & Jaworski was founded in 1919 in Houston. It is a leading full-service international law firm, with more than 850 lawyers in 17 locations. NAFUSA member Donald J. DeGabrielle, shown above, is also a Fulbright partner, in the Houston office.
I would like to wish each of you a happy New Year and extend a special welcome to our new members. We are looking forward to an exciting year for NAFUSA, and hope that your engagement with NAFUSA this year will strengthen the ties that bind us together. I encourage you to stay involved and to contribute to the common purpose and vitality of our organization. Most importantly, I hope you will share the warm camaraderie of our membership and the rich personal and professional relationships that give us common cause. We have just concluded a very successful year and a terrific annual conference in Atlanta. I would like to thank Rick Deane again for his outstanding leadership this past year. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Rich Rossman for his remarkable commitment and service as our Executive Director. Rich really keeps our organization humming. And I am grateful for our engaged and committed Board that provides thoughtful and meaningful guidance on NAFUSA’s policies and programs. It is an honor and privilege for me to have the opportunity to serve as your president in the year ahead.
We have a full year planned for 2013. As the year progresses, I hope you will reflect on your interest in being a more active participant in NAFUSA and consider possible service on a committee next year. We also have some new members on our Board that is very engaged and active and is a key driver of our programs and policies. Service on the Board has been a wonderful opportunity to share in the common experiences and rich heritage that we have as former United States Attorneys and to appreciate the special culture of NAFUSA rooted in our respect for the pursuit of justice and the role of the United States Attorney in our justice system.
We have scheduled a Board meeting in May to review the progress and plans of the organization, and importantly to advance the planning of our annual conference, which will be in Washington, DC, at the end of September. We hope you will be able to join us for the September meeting which promises to be a wonderful opportunity to advance your professional learning and to renew and enrich your personal and professional relationships. In part, we hope at that time to be able to share in understanding some of the issues and changes that lie ahead in the Justice Department community in what should be a dynamic year of a new Administration.
So we begin the year on a sound financial footing as an organization with a vibrant membership and a committed leadership. We will exercise our stewardship to maintain the financial health of the organization while seeking to expand our membership, provide a rich and rewarding professional program, and deepen the important personal and professional relationships that are the foundation of our common purpose. We encourage you to share in our events and the lives and professional activities of our members through our newsletter and website. I note, that in this era of partisan gridlock, it is reassuring that NAFUSA continues to flourish as a non-partisan organization comprised of both R’s and D’s who share a common commitment to support the independence of the U.S. Attorney and the pursuit of justice in our nation. I look forward to serving as your president in the year ahead and to engaging you in developing rich personal and professional relationships with your colleagues and rewarding professional experiences and opportunities through NAFUSA.
Jay B. Stephens
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR 2013 DUES
2013 membership dues were payable February 28, 2013. If you have not paid your 2013 dues, they are past due. You may register for payment on line and, if you choose, pay by credit card. Lifetime members do not need to register.
Not sure whether you are a lifetime member? Click here to see the 48 NAFUSA members who have chosen to become lifetime members. Please consider joining them at a one time payment of $1500.
Annual dues remain at $150 and senior dues (retired and over 70 years) at $50.
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