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Jay Bybee
2019 - Present
5
Jay S. Bybee is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. He joined the court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush.[1] Bybee assumed senior status on December 31, 2019.[2]
Early life and education
A native of Oakland, California, Bybee graduated from Brigham Young University with his B.A. in 1977, and from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School with his J.D. in 1980.[1]
Professional career
- 2001-2002: Assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
- 1999-2000: Professor, Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada-Reno
- 1991-1998: Professor, Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University
- 1989-1991: Associate counsel to President George H.W. Bush
- 1986-1989: Attorney, civil division, U.S. Department of Justice
- 1984-1986: Staff attorney, Office of Legal Policy
- 1981-1984: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
- 1980-1981: Law clerk, Hon. Donald S. Russell, United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit[1]
Judicial career
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: Jay S. Bybee |
| Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 295 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 22, 2002
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| ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified
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| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: February 5, 2003
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| Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript |
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: February 27, 2003
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| Confirmed: March 13, 2003
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| Vote: 74-19
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 Returned: November 20, 2002
|
Bybee was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by President George W. Bush on January 7, 2003, to a seat vacated by Procter Hug, Jr., as Hug assumed senior status. The American Bar Association rated Bybee Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination.[3] Hearings on Bybee's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on February 5, 2003, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on February 27, 2003. Bybee was confirmed on a recorded 74-19 vote of the U.S. Senate on March 13, 2003, and he received his commission on March 21, 2003. Bybee assumed senior status on December 31, 2019.[1][4][5]
Torture memos
Memos lead to call for impeachment
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, called for Bybee's impeachment on April 20, 2009, as Bybee was one of the authors of torture memos written by senior Justice Department lawyers during the Bush administration.[6] In question was an 18-page interrogation memo that former Assistant Attorney General Bybee signed in August 2002 that gave the Central Intelligence Agency the legal go-ahead to use harsh interrogation techniques including waterboarding. It was among four legal memos on the interrogation program released on April 16, 2009, by the Obama administration.[6] Bybee was previously associated with another August 2002 legal memo on interrogations, that one addressed to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It opined that the president as commander in chief had broad authority to approve harsh interrogations and that tactics short of "organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death" might be defended as acceptable.[6][7]
The New York Times called for Judge Bybee's impeachment in an editorial, stating:
| “ | These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him. And if the administration will not conduct a thorough investigation of these issues, then Congress has a constitutional duty to hold the executive branch accountable. If that means putting Donald Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales on the stand, even Dick Cheney, we are sure Americans can handle it. | ” |
Bybee established a legal defense fund to pay the costs of possible disciplinary or impeachment proceedings.[10] Bybee was not impeached.
Senator Feingold sought memos in 2003
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, voted against Bybee's nomination in 2003. When questioning Bybee to become a judge on one of the most prolific federal courts of appeal in the nation, on March 13, 2003, Feingold stated the following before his floor vote against Bybee while in search of the recently released torture memos:
| “ | The (Bush) administration should be able to agree to an acceptable procedure to allow the Judiciary Committee to review Mr. Bybee's OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinions. Given the recent history of many OLC opinions being made public, it is hard to believe that there are no opinions authored by Mr. Bybee that could be disclosed without damaging the deliberative process. Indeed, it is very hard to give credence to the idea that OLC's independence would be compromised by the release of some selection of the opinions of interest to members of the Judiciary Committee or the Senate. Without the OLC memos, important questions about the nominee's views on how far the Government can go in the war on terrorism, enforcing the rights of women, enforcing the rights of gays and lesbians, and other important issues that don't remain unanwsered, they remain off-limits.[11][9] | ” |
On April 21, 2009, Senator Feingold issued a statement on the Bybee torture memo stating:
| “ | The just released OLC memos, including the 2002 memo authored by Jay Bybee, are a disgrace. The idea that one of the architects of this perversion of the law is now sitting on the federal bench is very troubling. The memos offer some of the most explicit evidence yet that Mr. Bybee and others authorized torture and they suggest that grounds for impeachment can be made. Clearly, the Justice Department has the responsibility to investigate this matter further. As a Senator, I would be a juror in any impeachment trial so I don’t want to reach a conclusion until all the evidence is before me.[12][9] | ” |
Noteworthy cases
Ninth Circuit rules that protections for endangered species must remain intact (2014)
In March 2014, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, composed of Judges Bybee, Johnnie Rawlinson and Morris Arnold (sitting by designation), reversed a decision originally reached by Judge Oliver Wanger of the Eastern District of California. The majority opinion was written by Judge Bybee, who found that protections must remain intact for the delta smelt, an endangered species.
Articles:
See also
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Judge Bybee's biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, "The Honorable Jay S. Bybee"
- International Business Times, "Judge Son Suicide: Son Of Federal Appeals Court Judge Jay Bybee Commits Suicide Outside Las Vegas Mormon Temple," November 20, 2013
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed August 8, 2014
- ↑ Bloomberg Law, "Trump to Get Another 9th Cir. Appointment, Jay Bybee Seat Opening," July 2, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 108th Congress," accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress "PN 4 - Jay S. Bybee - The Judiciary," accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 959 - Jay S. Bybee - The Judiciary," accessed July 9, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Las Vegas Review Journal, "New York Congressman calls for the Impeachment of Judge Jay Bybee", April 20, 2009
- ↑ Washington Post, "Memorandum for Alberto R Gonzales Counsel to the President," August 1, 2002
- ↑ New York Times, "The Torturers’ Manifesto," April 18, 2009
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Newsweek: Declassified, "Torture Memo Author Sets Up Defense Fund to Fight Possible Impeachment," November 19, 2009
- ↑ Senator Russ Feingold Website, "Senator Russ Feingold's speech against Jay Bybee", March 13, 2003
- ↑ Senator Russ Feingold Website, "Statement in support of the impeachment of federal judge Jay Bybee," April 21, 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Procter Hug, Jr. |
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals 2003–2019 |
Succeeded by: Lawrence VanDyke
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