Thread: Brewer names D.C. attorney as lead counsel in SB 1070

Gov. Jan Brewer names D.C. attorney as lead counsel in SB 1070 petition

Gov. Jan Brewer has appointed Washington D.C.-based attorney and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement as lead counsel for the state's petition against the federal government in the Senate Bill 1070 case.

The move is a surprise, especially given that Attorney General Tom Horne has previously said that he was willing and eager to handle all legal proceeding pertaining to the case.

And perhaps no one is more surprised than Horne himself; his office confirmed to the Republic that they were unaware of Brewer's decision until this morning.

Horne is out of town at a conference in Wyoming, but released the following statement about the governor's decision:

"It is important that we win the SB 1070 case. Paul Clement is an outstanding attorney, and his addition to the legal team is valuable to the state's defense of the law."

A call to Horne's cell phone was not immediately returned.

Brewer and Horne held a press conference last month to announce that they intended to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a preliminary injunction that has blocked major portions of the tough immigration law from going into effect.

The petition must be filed by July 11.

Brewer's communications team did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Clement's selection or what prompted his appointment. It is unclear what role -- if any -- Brewer's previously hired outside legal counsel -- the Phoenix law firm of Snell & Wilmer will play in the case.

It is also unknown how much Clement's services will cost the state.

The governor had previously set up a fund to help cover legal expenses related to defending Senate Bill 1070.

As of mid-May, the fund had received donations totaling more than $3.7 million. The account had a balance of $1.86 million, with net expenditures in excess of $1.9 million.

In a media release Monday morning, Brewer said "Mr. Clement has an impeccable nationwide reputation for his expertise in appellate and constitutional litigation. He is well-suited to lead our excellent legal team as we advance Arizona's appeal to the Supreme Court."

As lead counsel, Clement will be charged with actually arguing the case in court if the high court decides to hear it.

Clement is a partner at Bancroft PLLC in Washington D.C. and served under President George W. Bush as the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States from 2005 to 2008. He is also a former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

According to Brewer's office, Clement has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court. He is currently serving as lead counsel in the Florida lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care law.

Clement represents more than 26 states in that case, including Arizona. The case is currently before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

--Ginger Rough

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/P ... der/130443

We need some dedicated ALIPAC activists to dig in on U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement right away to see if there are any ties to the Council on Foreign Relations or any other pro Amnesty aka North American Union types please.

W

Paul Clement

From Wikipedia

Paul Drew Clement

43rd Solicitor General of the United States

In office
July 11, 2004 – June 19, 200


Preceded by
Theodore Olson


Succeeded by
Gregory G. Garre

Born
June 24, 1966 (age 44)
Cedarburg, Wisconsin

Political party
Republican

Alma mater
Georgetown University
Darwin College, Cambridge
Harvard Law School

Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is a former United States Solicitor General and current Georgetown University legal professor. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 14, 2005 for the post of Solicitor-General, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 8, 2005, and took the oath of office on June 13. Clement replaced Theodore Olson.

The Solicitor General is the fourth-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. The Solicitor General is below the Attorney general, Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General. From September 17, 2007 to October 2, 2007 when Michael Mukasey was confirmed as Attorney General by the Senate, Clement was the highest ranking Justice Department official that had been confirmed to his office by the Senate; the Deputy and Associate Attorney general positions were both filled by acting appointees at that time.[1]

Clement resigned on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and joined the Georgetown University Law Center as a visiting professor and senior fellow at the Supreme Court Institute.[2]

[edit] Early life and education

Clement was born to Jean and Jerry Clement, and he had two brothers and a sister. Clement is a native of Cedarburg, Wisconsin. In 1984 he graduated from Cedarburg High School, where he was on the debate team. He received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and a master's degree in economics from Darwin College, University of Cambridge. While at Georgetown, Clement successfully competed in the American Parliamentary Debate Association. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review.

[edit] Legal career

Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, he worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis. Clement went on to serve as Chief Counsel of Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding, where he headed the firm's appellate practice. He also served from 1998 to 2004 as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught a seminar on the separation of powers.

Clement joined the United States Department of Justice in February 2001. Before his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, and he became the acting Solicitor General on July 11, 2004 when Theodore Olson resigned. He has argued over 49 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, United States v. Booker, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Rumsfeld v. FAIR, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, Gonzales v. Raich, Gonzales v. Oregon, Gonzales v. Carhart, and Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation. He also argued many of the key cases in the lower courts involving challenges to the President's conduct of the war on terrorism.[3]

On August 27, 2007, President Bush named Clement as the future acting Attorney General of the United States, to take office upon the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, effective September 17, 2007.[4] According to administration officials, Clement took that office at 12:01 AM September 17, 2007, and left office 24 hours later.[5] On September 17, President Bush announced that Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Peter Keisler would become acting Attorney General, pending a permanent appointment of a presidential nominee.[6][7]

Clement gave notice of his resignation on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and returned to Georgetown Law School as a senior fellow.[2] He had been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate in a John McCain presidency[2] and is a coveted potential hire among DC legal firms, who reportedly are vying to build a firm around his expertise in appellate matters.[8] Evan Tager of Mayer Brown said: “Paul Clement is the Holy Grail of law firm recruiting... The buzz in the legal world about Clement is like the buzz in basketball when LeBron James was coming out of high school and turning pro. It will be interesting to see where the market will go.â€

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

We need some dedicated ALIPAC activists to dig in on U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement right away to see if there are any ties to the Council on Foreign Relations or any other pro Amnesty aka North American Union types please.

W

He was nominated by President George W. Bush, who supports amnesty and the North American Union.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

We need some dedicated ALIPAC activists to dig in on U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement right away to see if there are any ties to the Council on Foreign Relations or any other pro Amnesty aka North American Union types please.

W

He was nominated by President George W. Bush, who supports amnesty and the North American Union.

I don't think that is relevant, JohnDoe. I imagine most of us have worked for people that we weren't in complete agreement with politically. I'm sure Gov. Brewer's administration vetted Mr. Clement before offering him such an important job. Clement's beliefs aren't important anyway (IMO), he was hired to do a job and very few people in such a position would sabatoge a case. Doing such would be suicide to ones reputation.

Long article about him at the following link.

Note, this comment in the article on pg 2:

While in the Office of the Solicitor General, Paul Clement had argued 49 cases before the Supreme Court, and won most of them. If John McCain had defeated Barack Obama in 2008, Clement would probably be on the Supreme Court now.

www.realclearpolitics.com

Another part from an article about him.

Paul Clement is universally regarded as one of the nation's smartest, most experienced, and most effective Supreme Court and appellate lawyers.

http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com

Originally Posted by jean

Another part from an article about him.

Paul Clement is universally regarded as one of the nation's smartest, most experienced, and most effective Supreme Court and appellate lawyers.

http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com

Sounds like someone you would pick if you wanted the best possible outcome in your case. It's hard to believe Gov. Brewer could have found anyone better.

Originally Posted by Mickey

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

We need some dedicated ALIPAC activists to dig in on U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement right away to see if there are any ties to the Council on Foreign Relations or any other pro Amnesty aka North American Union types please.

W

He was nominated by President George W. Bush, who supports amnesty and the North American Union.

I don't think that is relevant, JohnDoe. I imagine most of us have worked for people that we weren't in complete agreement with politically. I'm sure Gov. Brewer's administration vetted Mr. Clement before offering him such an important job. Clement's beliefs aren't important anyway (IMO), he was hired to do a job and very few people in such a position would sabatoge a case. Doing such would be suicide to ones reputation.

I would tend to lean that way also. These guys are looking after themselves and what they can accomplish

Whichever way helps the case go the politicians on that side will support him in the future.