So in a previous post I explored the right-wing religious bias of the lawyers and law firm representing Sarah Palin's interest in quashing the Troopergate Investigation, now through the Alaska Supreme Court.
In this post, on the day of the arguments before the Court, we'll explore who the legal scholars are behind "The Amicus Brief."
An "Amicus Brief" ("Friend of the Court") is filed with the Supreme Court in conjuction with a pending decision. It's supposed to be written by legal scholars and it supports one side or the other.
The Amicus Brief in the Troopergate case is in favor of Liberty Legal Institute, representing the pro-Palin legislators filing the suit to quash the investigation. I was sent this brief and decided to do some casual research into the identities of these "legal scholars." However, the research was so interesting I kept working on it. I looked up 6 out of 15 of the lawyers...feel free to look up more and post on my blog.
Six of the lawyers who joined the "Amicus Brief"--plural--the "Amici"
- John S. Baker Jr., Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law at University of Louisiana Law Center--Seems that John S. Baker was the lawyer for Gov. George Wallace and the State of Alabamawhen their "a moment of silence" law in Alabama Schools was challenged after it was amended in 1982 "to permit teachers to lead "willing students" in a prayer to "Almighty God." He has also endorsed "The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools."
- Patrick McKinley Brennan, John F. Scarpa Chair of Catholic Legal Studies and Professor of Law at Villanova University School of Law. So Brenan, a lawyer who is on an amicus brief for a Supreme Court case, wrote an article titled that talked about
"...the American cult of the Supreme Court." He is also a member of
"The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies" which
"...is a group of conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order." It wants to do so by,
"...reordering priorities within the legal system to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law."
- Theodore H. Frank is on leave from his role as Director of the American Enterprise Institute of Legal Center for the Public Interest. This comes under the banner of
AEI Institute for Public Policy,
an extremely influential, pro-business right-wing think tank founded in 1943 by Lewis H. Brown. It promotes the advancement of free enterprise capitalism[1], and succeeds in placing its people in influential governmental positions. It is the center base for many neo-conservatives.
- Michael W. Lewis, Asst. Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law; former Naval Flight Officer in Desert Storm and Naval Recruiter, argued FOR torture in his paper
"INTERNATIONAL MYOPIA: HAMDAN’S SHORTCUT TO "VICTORY".
- Michael A. Livingston, Professor of Law at Rutgers-Camden School of Law, unsuccessful Republican Candidate for Congress, PA 2nd District and interestingly enough, a blogger. Since we're speaking of partisanship, let's check out
the entry on his blog when he was "privleged" to attend the McCain/Palin rally:
"...although not nearly so privileged as his 13-year son, who--having long since learned to ignore his father in political situations--clawed his way to the rope line and managed to shake hands with the Great One herself, constituting plainly the most important event of his life and one likely to be remembered when the rest of us are long forgotten."
Yes, he called Sarah Palin, "The Great One."
I'm so excited that the contributors to this Amicus Brief are so...errrrm...unbiased and non-partisan!
- And finally, we have Andrew W. Lester, Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He follows the right-wing trend, as he currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Civil Rights Practice Section of the Federalist Society (see above) and is President of the Society's Central Oklahoma Chapter. Also, while attending law school, he worked for Senator Bob Dole and served as a member of President-Elect Reagan's Transition Team for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. However, back in March 2008, he was also appointed to another position:
OKLAHOMA CITY — A legislative committee that is investigating state Auditor and Inspector Jeff McMahan hired Edmond attorney Andrew W. Lester Monday as special counsel to collect evidence that will help the panel decide whether McMahan should be impeached. The eight-member investigative committee voted unanimously to hire Lester at an organizational meeting where the panel’s co-chairmen said they want Lester and others in his law firm to start developing evidence and contacting possible witnesses in the impeachment case.
So...one of the ridiculous arguments the out-of-state lawyers have been using against this investigation is that the Legislature doesn't have the authority to investigate anyone in the Executive Branch.
In other words, they are putting forward the ridiculous notion that the legislature doesn't have the right to impeach anyone.
Yet Mr. Lester's resume includes heading an impeachment investigation...of a member of the Executive Branch...started by a state legislative committee.
Hmmmmmm...