Bush nominee story

[Levinson]

I must say that of all the reasons to oppose him (assuming there are any), this is absolutely the weakest.  It is not clear why one should need to be a member of a bar to be a federal judge--we all know distinguished academic colleagues who have never gotten around to taking the bar--and I hope that the Democrats don't make much of this.

sandy

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Gerber <s-gerber at onu.edu>
To: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:36:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Bush nominee story

I thought the list might be interest in the attached strange, but 
apparently true, story.

Scott Gerber
Law College
Ohio Northern University

Bush court nominee working without license

PROVO, Utah, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush's nominee for 
the federal appeals court in Washington has been practicing law in Utah 
for four years without a state license.

Thomas Griffith, the general counsel for Brigham Young University since 
August 2000, also had previously failed to renew his law license in 
Washington for three years while he was a lawyer there, the Washington 
Post reported Monday.

Griffith said the Washington lapse was an oversight by his law firm, 
but it proved costly when he moved back to Utah, where the only option 
for an unlicensed lawyer is to take and pass the state bar exam. Utah 
bar officials confirmed Griffith applied to take the exam, but never 
did.

While Griffith will not discuss the matter, it is certain to come up at 
his nomination hearings tentatively scheduled for next week, the 
newspaper said.

Griffith, 55, is a member of the Republican National Lawyers 
Association and was the lead counsel for the Senate during the 
impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.


--------------------------------------

Scott Gerber
Law College
Ohio Northern University
Ada, OH 45810
419-772-2219
http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/gerber/
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