It can certainly be
said that I am receiving an education on the appointment of United States
Attorneys. See here
and here
for my original posts. A reader who practices law passes on three cases that are relevent to the appointment of a new US Attorney for South Dakota.
I will simply give the citations, and if law geeks want to look them up, they
may: U.S. v. Hilario 218 F.3d 19; In
re Grand Jury Proceedings 673
F.Supp. 1138 D.Mass.,1987; In re Grand Jury Proceedings 671 F.Supp. 5 D.Mass.,1987.
My emailer, I think, sums it up nicely:
It seems to
me that allowing the interim US Attorney to resign prior to the completion of
his/her 120 day term, so that the Attorney General and not the district court
can appoint the next interim US Attorney, thwarts the intent of the
statute. That situation would allow the AG a perpetual and indefinite
ability to appoint interim US Attorneys. It's almost impossible for me to
believe Congress (and the President) intended that when they passed the law.
I agree with you as a philosophical matter that appointments are
the domain of the executive, not the judiciary. Regardless of one's
political affiliation, that is an undeniable fact. I can't say for sure,
but my guess is that this statute--which provides an exception to the general
rule--is applicable only in a very limited amount of cases. In an even
smaller amount of cases (maybe only one, this one) will this particular issue
arise -- i.e., whether or not the interim US Atty can resign prior to the 120
period and consequently allow the AG, not the district court, to appoint
his/her successor.
The emailer also
says:
This is a pretty fascinating event, though, the fact that Piersol is overtly exerting this potentially obscure statutory power. The real question, though, is: why did Tapken resign just a few days short of her 120 day term? Did the executive branch suggest she take this action? And if so, why? Is this an intentional attempt by the executive branch to thwart the statute?
Any way you slice it, one has to wonder why it has taken so long for a new United States Attorney to be appointed. For honesty's sake I point out that I am cutting a pasting a little from my emailer but I assure you that this is for simplicity of presentation and is not effecting the gist of what he is trying to say.
Recent Comments