RE: Nomination of Jay Scott Bybee to the United States Court of Appeals Dear Senator Leahy: I teach constitutional law at Brigham Young University Law School. I am writing to endorse in the strongest terms President Bush's nomination of Jay Bybee to a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. I have known Jay for nearly 30 years. We became good friends at Brigham Young University during the 1970s, where we both participated in the Honors Program and graduated together in economics. We have talked regularly about personal and professional matters over the years, and he remains one of my closest and most valued personal friends. Since Jay and I both ended up as law professors teaching constitutional law, he and I have had numerous discussions about constitutional issues. I am a Helong Democrat whose personal views generally coincide with those of the national party, so it is fair to say that Jay and I often disagree on constitutional issues. In all our discussions, Jay has always been interested in and open to opposing arguments. He is intellectually honest in expressing his own views and in acknowledging their weaknesses. Although he has conservative instincts, he is not dogmatic in his politics. Perhaps most important, there has not been a single instance in all our many exchanges in which he mischaracterized the law or misread a case. To say that Jay has an open mind is not to say that he has an empty one; he has his views, as we all do. Indeed, I think it would be a little troubling to put people on the federal bench who had not reached at least some tentative personal conclusions about the nature and content of constitutional law. Nevertheless, because of my long personal association with Jay, I can say with full confidence that no litigant need ever fear that Jay will have prejudged any issue in any case. Jay will approach the task of adjudicating the law with an open mind that will carefully and Jay will be a good and a fair judge. I would urge all of the members of the Judiciary Committee to support his confirmation. I am delighted to have the opportunity to recommend to you my former colleague, Jay Bybee, who has been nominated to a seat on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I got to know Jay Bybee during the approximately four years we served together on the Louisiana State University law faculty, where I am a professor of law. (During the 200203 academic year, I am on sabbatical, serving as Fulbright Distinguished Scholar to the United Kingdom, in residence at the University of Glasgow.) Jay is a person of high intelligence, genuine decency, and a strong work ethic. He was an always reliable and generous colleague, a popular and effective teacher, and a creative and insightful scholar. He must surely be regarded as one of the leading constitutional law thinkers in the United States, particularly with respect to questions of separation of powers and the religion clauses of the First Amendment. I have no doubt that he will quickly establish himself as a leading member of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jay and I differ on many issues of politics and law (unlike Jay, I am a liberal Democrat In short, I am pleased to recommend Jay Bybee enthusiastically and without any reservation to be a judge of the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals. Sincerely, Stuart P. Green Cc: The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy (fax: +01 (202) 224-9516) Office of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice (fax: +01 (202) 514-5715) SCHOOL OF LAW Stair Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ JUDICIARY COMMITTEE United States Senate Senator Orrin Hatch, Chairman February 5, 2003 Contact: Margarita Tapia, 202/224-5225 Statement of Chairman Orrin G. Hatch Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary On the Nominations of: Jay S. Bybee for the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit I am pleased to welcome to the Committee this morning four excellent nominees for the federal bench. All of you are to be commended for your impressive qualifications and accomplishments. Our first panel today will feature an outstanding circuit court nominee, Jay S. Bybee, who has been nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Bybee is no stranger to Committee hearings, having appeared most recently before the Committee in October 2001. We will also hear from three District Court nominees: Judge Ralph R. Erickson for the District of North Dakota, Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. for the District of Maryland, and Judge Gregory L. Frost for the Southern District of Ohio. And of course, I would also like to express appreciation for the Members who have taken time to come and present their views on the qualifications of our witnesses today. We will hear from them in a moment. I am especially honored to have Mr. Jay Bybee here today, who has been nominated by President Bush to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Professor Bybee comes to us with a sterling resume and a record of distinguished public service. Professor Bybee is currently on leave from UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law, where he has served as a professor since the law school's founding in 1999. He has served as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) since October 2001. Notably, this is a post formerly held by two current Supreme Court justices. As head of the Office 1 of Legal Counsel, Mr. Bybee assists the Attorney General in his function as legal advisor to the President and all executive branch agencies. The Office also is responsible for providing legal advice to the executive branch on all constitutional questions and reviewing pending legislation for constitutionality. I'm sure Professor Bybee can attest that his work has been more than challenging, especially since he joined OLC soon after the events of September 11th, but the nation is lucky to have him. Professor Bybee is a Californian by birth, but he made the wise choice of attending Utah's own Brigham Young University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Economics, magna cum laude, and a law degree, cum laude. While in law school, he was as a member of the BYU Law Review. Following graduation, Mr. Bybee served as a law clerk to Judge Donald Russell of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining the firm of Sidley & Austin. In 1984 he accepted a position with the Department of Justice, first joining the Office of Legal Policy, and then working with the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division. In that capacity, Mr. Bybee prepared briefs and presented oral arguments in the U.S. Courts of Appeals. From 1989 to 1991, Mr. Bybee served as Associate Counsel to President George H.W. Bush. Professor Bybee is a leading scholar in the areas of constitutional and administrative law. Before he joined the law faculty at UNLV, he established his scholarly credentials at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, where he taught from 1991 to 1998. His colleagues have described Professor Bybee as a first-rate teacher, a careful and balanced scholar, and a hardworking and open-minded individual with the type of broad legal experience the federal bench needs. The recommendations of two individuals, in particular, deserve special note. Bill Marshall, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina and a former Associate White House Counsel under President Clinton who also participated in the judicial selection process for Clinton Administration appointments while at OLP, said of Mr. Bybee: "The combination of his analytic skills along with his personal commitment to fairness and dispassion lead me to conclude that he will serve in the best traditions of the federal judiciary. He understands the rule of law and he will follow it completely." |