Upon hearing the news that President Obama told a suburban Chicago court that he would not be able to serve on a jury because of the State of the Union Address, a former Justice Department spokesman said that the president should not skip out on his civil duty.

“The president had an opportunity to signal that jury duty is important and a duty of citizenship, rather than just simply saying he ‘would not be able to serve’,” wrote Mary Kate Cary, a former Justice Department spokesman and White House speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush.

“When I was a spokesman at the Department of Justice in the early 1990s, I was called for jury duty. Because I was promoting the attorney general’s pro-victim, anti-crime positions daily, I figured the judge would take one look at me and I’d be let off. No such thing. He asked if any potential jurors knew the prosecutor or the defense lawyer personally, and hearing no affirmative answers, started the trial. I couldn’t believe I was kept on the jury, but I have to say, it was an eye-opening experience. I learned a heck of a lot about our criminal justice system — good and bad — and I now think everyone should serve on a jury, whether they’re the president or not.”

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez at the National Press Club on Friday (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

Appearing at the National Press Club on Friday, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez gave an impassioned speech on his vision for the Civil Rights Division, while criticizing its actions under the George W. Bush administration with the harshest language he has used to date.

“I learned, to my great disappointment, that those who had been entrusted with the keys to the division, and to its great power to pursue justice, treated the division instead like a buffet line at the cafeteria, cherry‐picking which laws to enforce,” Perez said in prepared remarks before the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

“I’ve seen the eyes and the faces of the wonderful career professionals who toiled during the last eight years, who did their best and did so much, but it was so difficult,” said Perez during his speech.

“I must say I wasn’t surprised by much of the data  [showing fewer civil rights prosecutions in other areas during the Bush administration]. I rather expected it, but I was rather shocked in the hate crimes setting because Ed Meese made hate crimes a priority, Brad Reynolds made hate crimes a priority, John Dunne made hate crimes a priority, George Herbert Walker Bush made the prosecution of hate crimes a priority, Bill Clinton made the prosecution of hate crimes a priority, and Barack Obama and Eric Holder will once again make the prosecution of hate crimes a significant priority,” said Perez.

Touching on his theme of transformation and revitalization of the Civil Rights Division, Perez said that it  must recognize “emerging areas of interest, areas where the Civil Rights Division may not have played a large role historically, but must play a large role today. One essential area is the area of civil rights and human rights, recognizing that we must set an example for the world.”

Perez recounted his testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary panel last week on how the Civil Rights Division saw its role in implementing several international human rights treaties. He said the division would be working closely with the State Department on international human rights issues to make sure that the U.S. is in compliance with those treaties.

“We are the nation’s problem-solvers, not simply the nation’s litigators,” said Perez. “I’m a firm believer that if you want a job done well, give it to a busy person, and we’re having a lot of busy people at our department,” said Perez.

The conclusion of Perez’s speech, filmed by Main Justice, can be viewed below. The full speech, as aired on C-SPAN, can be viewed here.

ACS Remarks 12 18 09

Paul Fishman (Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler & Adelman)

The New Jersey U.S. Attorney was sworn in today before 400 people including Attorney General Eric Holder and state dignitaries, the NBC New York Web site reported.

Some of the notable New Jerseyans, who were in attendance according to the news Web site, include:

-Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who administered the oath.

-Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.)

-Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)

-Gov. Jon Corzine.

-Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who was the George W. Bush U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

-Former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who served as New Jersey U.S. Attorney under President George H.W. Bush.

-New Jersey FBI Director Weysan Dun.

Holder said Fishman will be one of his top advisers, according to NBC New York. In October, the Attorney General tapped Fishman to be on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, a body that serves as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys at Justice Department headquarters in Washington.

“I will rely on a man I trust,” Holder said at the ceremony, according to the news Web site.

Fishman officially took the helm of the U.S. Attorney’s office in October, shortly after he won Senate confirmation. He replaced acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, who is under investigation by the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility.

OPR is probing Marra over remarks he made this summer that could have aided Christie’s campaign for governor. The comments were about a July sting, which netted more than 40 defendants. Corzine and Christie both used investigation to show their anti-corruption credentials during the heated race for governor.

Fishman said he would make sure his office is fair and ethical. He added that his office would also fight gang crime and terrorism, according to the NBC news Web site.

A former U.S. Attorney currently serving as Blount County Mayor announced on Monday that he will seek re-election, a Tennessee newspaper reports. Jerry Cunningham served as the head prosecutor for the Eastern District of Tennessee under President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993. The Daily Times of Maryville, Tenn., said Cunningham will run for another four-year term in 2010.

After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1993, Cunningham rejoined the private sector before retiring in 2006 after a 36-year career, The Daily Times reports. Cunningham is serving his first term as the county’s mayor.

'80s Tim Griffin on Facebook

As he mounts a bid for Congress from Arkansas, Tim Griffin (R) is drawing campaign donations from his former colleagues in the Bush administration.

A one-time aide to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, Griffin served as interim U.S. Attorney in Little Rock after Bud Cummins was fired in the 2006 U.S. Attorneys scandal. Now he’s running for the Republican nomination to challenge Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.).

“I’m not going to distance myself from anything I’ve done. I’m very proud of my service,” Griffin said in an interview. “I’m just gonna put Tim Griffin out there.”

His third quarter Federal Election Commission report released last week showed A-list donors from the Republican establishment, including  Alex Castellanos, a top media adviser to Bush’s 2004 campaign; Mary Matalin, a Republican strategist who worked on President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign and later for Vice President Dick Cheney; Mark McKinnon, a policy adviser and media consultant to Bush; and Travis Thomas, the national finance director of Bush’s 2004 campaign.

In addition, a sizable chuck of Griffin’s donations comes from the oil industry.

Griffin, meanwhile, has embraced new media in his campaign. He’s started Facebook and Twitter pages, and has also signed up with iContribute, a Web site that collects donations through the Internet. While Griffin’s Republican primary opponents are also Twittering, Griffin has out-raised them. He collected $130,000 in donations since announcing his candidacy Sept. 21, the report said. Griffin’s campaign spent $1,600 and had $129,000 cash on hand, according to the report. Twelve percent of his donations — or $15,800 —  came from oil producers.

Neither of Griffin’s GOP primary challengers — David Meeks and Scott Wallace — have filed a quarterly report. Meeks said his campaign was unable to file electronically due to “technical problems,” but said he raised $5,100 this quarter. Wallace launched his campaign after the end of the quarter. “I take my primary opponents very seriously,” Griffin told us. “I expect to have a vigorous primary.”

As for the incumbent, Snyder reported raising no money in the third quarter of this year. But he spent $4,700 and had $7,600 cash on hand. Said Griffin: ”It’s always an uphill battle against an incumbent. Congressman Snyder has been challenged a number of times and has won numerous times.” When asked if any Bush administration officials will be campaigning for him, Griffin said he will be making event and policy announcements in coming months.

Among Griffin’s donors are:

• Bob Brooks, Vice President of the Alpine Group who was a lawyer for the Republican National Committee in 2000 and who in 2003 went on a golfing trip to St. Andrews in Scotland with Jack Abramoff – $2,400 
  
• Joel Starr, a State Department attorney who was a speechwriter on President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign — $4,800
• Alex Castellanos, a Republican media strategist, a top media adviser to Bush’s 2004 campaign and a partner at National Media, Inc. — $1,000
• Keith Crass, a Republican candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives — $500
• Ray C. Dillon, president, CEO and director of Deltic Timber Corporation — $1,000
• James Dyke, a communications adviser to Bush and a former RNC communications director — $250
• Kelly Eichler, an attorney who worked in then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R) administration — $250
• Adrian Gray, the National Voter Contact Director for Bush’s 2004 campaign — $500
• William Asa Hutchinson III,  an associate solicitor in the Patent and Trademark Office and an attorney for the Commerce Department during the Bush administration. He is the son of Asa Hutchinson, a former House member from northwest Arkansas who served at the Department of Homeland Security in the Bush administration. Asa Hutchinson is also a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas — $500
• David Kustoff, a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee who was appointed by Bush — $1,000
• Mary Matalin, Republican strategist  – $250
  
• Mark McKinnon, media consultant to Bush and Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign — $250
• William C. Nolan, chairman of the board of Murphy Oil Corporation — $2,400
• Mark Rayder, a Republican lobbyist and senior policy adviser at Alston & Bird – $500
• Matthew Rhoades, the research director for Bush’s 2004 campaign and is a former research director/deputy communications director to the RNC — $1,000
• Robin Roberts, president of National Media, Inc. and the media buyer for Bush’s 2000 campaign — $1,000
• Natalie Rule, former director of public affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under Bush, deputy communications director at the 2004 Republican National Convention and the spokeswoman for Bush’s inaugural committee in 2001 — $250.
• Travis Thomas, the national finance director of Bush’s 2004 campaign — $250
• Michael Zito, a former trial attorney at the Federal Trade Commission — $250