MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
If that was done for political purposes, that is downright shameful and pathetic
Yay for our distinguished Senate
Yay for our distinguished Senate
nbcrusader said:Oh, let's complain about procedural manuvers. How quick we forget about the judicial appointments that never get to a vote.
nbcrusader said:Ahh, the righteous filibuster and the GOP filibuster
Nominee lacks license but practices law in Utah
By Carol D. Leonnig
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON ? Thomas Griffith, President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, has been practicing law in Utah without a state law license for four years, Utah state officials say.
Griffith, general counsel for Brigham Young University, previously had failed to renew his law license for three years while based in the District of Columbia. He attributed that to an oversight by his law firm. But that lapse subsequently prevented Griffith from receiving a law license in Utah when he moved there.
Under Utah law, Griffith's only option for obtaining the state license was to pass the state bar exam, an arduous test. He applied to sit for the exam but never took it, Utah bar officials confirm.
Utah State Bar rules require all lawyers practicing law in the state to have a Utah license. There is no general exception for general or corporate counsels. Those who practice only federal law or whose work is solely administrative can avoid the requirement in some cases.
Griffith, 55, has declined to discuss the matter, expected to be a subject of his nomination hearings tentatively scheduled next week.
But a Justice Department spokesman said Friday that Griffith sought advice from Utah State Bar officials when he inquired last year about getting a license, and followed their suggestions for avoiding missteps.
"The Utah State Bar advised him that to the extent that his duties as general counsel involved giving legal advice, he ought to closely associate himself with a Utah bar member," Justice Department spokesman John Nowacki said. "It has been Mr. Griffith's practice to closely associate himself with a Utah bar member when giving legal advice."
Nowacki declined to comment on whether the state bar advised Griffith to take the exam. Sources familiar with a letter the state bar wrote to Griffith last year say bar officials recommended that Griffith take the exam.