J. Michael Luttig

John Michael Luttig (born June 13, 1954) is an American lawyer and a former United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

J. Michael Luttig
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
In office August 2, 1991 – May 10, 2006
Appointed by	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	G. Steven Agee
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
In office 1990–1991
President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	William P. Barr
Succeeded by	Timothy Flanigan
Personal details
Born	John Michael Luttig June 13, 1954 Tyler, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Washington and Lee University (BA) University of Virginia (JD)

Education and early work

Luttig was born in Tyler, Texas, in 1954. After high school he attended Washington and Lee University, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts. From 1976 to 1978, Luttig worked at the U.S. Supreme Court in its Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice, where he developed a close friendship with Chief Justice Warren Burger.[1][2] He then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor in 1981.

After graduating from law school, Luttig spent a year in the Reagan administration as an associate with the White House Counsel, Fred F. Fielding, who hired him on Burger's recommendation.[1] Luttig's duties included reviewing potential judicial appointments and vetting them for ideological consistency with the administration's policies. From 1982 to 1983, he clerked for then-Judge Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, one of the potential judges he had vetted in his prior job. Luttig then returned to the Supreme Court as one of Burger's law clerks from 1983 to 1984.[3] Luttig later served as co-executor of Burger's one-page will, which gained notoriety for Burger's failure to dictate how estate taxes should be paid.[4][5][6] Luttig continued to work for Burger as a special assistant until 1985, when he entered private practice at the Washington office of Davis Polk & Wardwell.

In 1989, Luttig returned to government service, holding various positions within the United States Department of Justice until 1991 under George H. W. Bush, including as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel.[3][7] His duties in the Justice Department included assisting Supreme Court nominees David Souter and Clarence Thomas with their Senate confirmation proceedings. His assistance of Thomas proved somewhat controversial because he assisted Thomas in his highly contested Senate confirmation process after Luttig's own appointment to the federal bench had been approved by the Senate, but before Luttig took the judicial oath of office.[7][8][9][10]

Federal judgeship

On April 23, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Luttig to fill a newly created seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1991 and receiving his commission on August 2, 1991, he became the youngest judge (at age 37) on a federal appeals court at the time of his appointment.[10]

On the bench, Luttig was compared to Justice Scalia for his analytical rigor and for criticizing his colleagues for inconsistencies or embellishments in their judicial opinions and right-wing extremism.[11] He was also similar to Scalia in that his judicial philosophy sometimes led to what were seen as anti-conservative opinions.[3][10]

Luttig was mentioned frequently as being near the top of George W. Bush's list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States despite opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a dispute between Luttig and the Bush administration over the handling of the case of alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla (see below).[12][13] Bush interviewed but ultimately did not choose Luttig to fill two Supreme Court vacancies in 2005.

Luttig was the leading feeder judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, with virtually all of his law clerks having gone on to clerk with conservative justices on the Supreme Court,[14] a total of 40, 33 of whom clerked for either Justice Thomas or Justice Scalia.[15] Luttig's clerks have nicknamed themselves "Luttigators".

Father's murder

Luttig's father, John Luttig, was fatally shot in 1994 in a carjacking by Napoleon Beazley, who, at the time of the crime, was a seventeen-year-old minor.[16] Luttig testified in the sentencing portion of the trial, providing testimony supporting imposition of the death penalty.[16] Beazley was convicted, condemned to death, and eventually executed after twice appealing to the Supreme Court,[17][18] where Justices Antonin Scalia, David Souter, and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because of past associations with Luttig. Scalia recused himself because Luttig had clerked for him, and Justices David Souter and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because Luttig led the George H. W. Bush Administration's efforts to gain the Senate's confirmation for them.[19]

Cases

José Padilla and clash with Bush administration

In September 2005, Luttig wrote an opinion for a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit, which upheld the government's power to designate José Padilla, the alleged "dirty bomber" who was captured at a Chicago airport, as an "enemy combatant" and to detain him in a military brig without charge.[20] In December, the Bush administration, anticipating a reversal in the Supreme Court, petitioned the Fourth Circuit for approval to transfer Padilla to civilian custody for a criminal trial. The move set off a dispute between the Bush administration and Luttig.[21] Luttig's panel refused to grant the transfer and castigated the government for potentially harming its "credibility before the courts".[22] The government petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the transfer by arguing that the lower court's refusal encroached on the power of the President. The Supreme Court granted the government's request.[23]

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld

In the case of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Luttig disagreed with the majority opinion of his colleagues on the Fourth Circuit and argued that Yaser Esam Hamdi, an American citizen captured in Afghanistan and held as an enemy combatant, deserved "meaningful judicial review" of his case.[3] The Supreme Court eventually reversed the Fourth Circuit's judgment.

Resignation

In May 2006, Luttig resigned to become general counsel and senior vice president for The Boeing Company.[24][25] He replaced Douglas Bain.[26] In his resignation letter, Luttig wrote, "Boeing may well be the only company in America for which I would have ever considered leaving the court."[27] He also mentioned his two children's upcoming college education; the position at Boeing promised more pay than the federal judgeship. At the time of his resignation, federal appellate judges were paid $175,100 annually.[28] According to Boeing's 2008 Annual Report, Luttig's total compensation for 2008 was $2,798,962.[29] Luttig resigned as general counsel in May 2019.[30] He was replaced by Brett Gerry.[31]

See also

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
• George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

References

1. Hsu, Spencer S. (July 2, 1998). "One Judge and the Shaping of Abortion Law". The Washington Post. p. A1. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
2. "Boeing: J. Michael (Mike) Luttig". www.boeing.com.
3. Bazelon, Emily (July 1, 2005). "The Supreme Court Shortlist". Slate. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
4. "Famous Will: Warren Burger". doyourownwill.com.
5. "Last Will and Testament of Warren Burger". livingtrustnetwork.com.
6. "Chief Justice Burger: A Better Tax Lawyer Than His Critics". papers.ssrn.com. SSRN 1585397.
7. London, Robb (1991-10-18). "A Question of Ethics for a New Judge". New York Times - TimesMachine. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
8. Lewis, Anthony (1991-10-21). "Confirmed: sex, lies and politics". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-05-26. Luttig has been nominated and actually confirmed by the Senate to be a judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But he has delayed taking the judicial oath, perhaps so that he could make this last contribution to the political process before administering evenhanded justice.
9. Totenberg, Nina (6 July 2005). "Possible Successors to Chief Justice Rehnquist". National Public Radio. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
10. "Luttig, J. Michael - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
11. Deborah Sontag, "The Power of the Fourth," The New York Times Magazine, March 9, 2003
12. Bazelon, Emily; David Newman (July 1, 2005). "The Supreme Court Shortlist". Slate. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
13. Woellert, Lorraine (July 18, 2005). "Full Court Press". Businessweek Online. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
14. "Appeals court judge a rising star among conservatives". CNN. August 22, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
15. "Clerks Highlight Supreme Court’s Polarization" article by Adam Liptak in The New York Times September 6, 2010, accessed September 7, 2010
16. "Does Napoleon Beazley Deserve to Die?". Texas Monthly. 2002-04-01. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
17. "Docket - In re Napoleon Beazley, Petitioner - Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
18. "Docket - Beazley v. Texas - Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
19. Bonner, Raymond (August 14, 2001). "Three Abstain as Supreme Court Declines to Halt Texas Execution". The New York Times.
20. "PADILLA v. HANFT" (PDF). Findlaw.
21. McGough, Michael (January 2, 2006). "How do you solve a problem like Padilla?". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
22. "PADILLA v. HANFT" (PDF). Findlaw.
23. Bravin, Jess; Lunsford, J. Lynn (May 11, 2006). "Breakdown of Trust Led Judge Luttig to Clash with Bush". Wall Street Journal: A1. Retrieved 2006-05-11.
24. Markon, Jerry (May 11, 2006). "Appeals Court Judge Leaves Life Appointment for Boeing". The Washington Post: A11. Retrieved 2006-05-11.
25. Markon, Jerry (May 11, 2006). "Appeals Court Judge Leaves Life Appointment for Boeing". Washington Post. pp. A11. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
26. Ba (Nyse). "Boeing Senior Vice President and General Counsel Douglas Bain Retires - May 10, 2006". Boeing.mediaroom.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
27. "Untitled Page" (PDF). www.ca4.uscourts.gov.
28. "Error 404". Home. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
29. "The Boeing Company 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders". envisionreports.com.
30. Ba (Nyse) (2020-01-01). "J. Michael (Mike) Luttig". Boeing. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
31. Ba (Nyse) (2019-05-01). "Boeing Names Luttig Counselor and Senior Advisor, Gerry General Counsel - May 1, 2019". Boeing.mediaroom.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.

External links

• FJC Bio
• US News profile
• Luttig's resignation letter