I am simply livid at how Clinton's DOJ appointments ruled from 2001-2009.

[readmoreoften]

Everyone knows that it is the PREVIOUS president's appointees to the DOJ who are responsible for rulings under the current president. I must've been falsely judging George W. Bush by the actions of Clinton Appointees! Gosh, I thought that when freepers made those kinds of arguments, they were crazy. But apparently, we won't see the effect of the Obama administration's appointments for at least 4 years. I guess I'll have to reserve my judgement until after its time to vote for him again. :shrug:

Here are some of the awful things the Bill Clinton DOJ did from 2001-2009.

* Successfully defended the President’s faith-based initiatives against First Amendment challenge; the
Court held there was not taxpayer standing to mount the challenge (Hein v. Freedom from Religion
Foundation).

* Successfully supported school voucher program that permitted the use of vouchers at religious schools
against Establishment Clause challenge (Zelman v. Simmons-Harris).

*Successfully defended the constitutionality of the federal statute barring partial birth abortions (Gonzales
v. Carhart).

* Supported the government’s ability to display the Ten Commandments in public settings; the Court
upheld one such display and invalidated another (Van Orden v. Perry; McCreary County v. ACLU).

* Successfully supported the constitutionality of state laws requiring voters to present photographic identification
(Crawford v. Marion County Election Board).

* Successfully supported schools’ authority to regulate student speech concerning illegal drugs against
First Amendment challenge (Morse v. Frederick).

* Successfully defended the President’s authority to detain enemy combatants (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld). Also
defended the constitutionality of the Military Commission Act, which provided for military commissions
to make enemy combatant determinations (Boumediene v. Bush). The Court held that a judicial
determination of enemy-combatant status is required.

* Successfully defended the Navy’s authority to conduct critical sonar training against challenges under
environmental laws (Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc.).

* Successfully defended against constitutional challenges the federal statute that protects the military’s
equal access to recruiting opportunities on college campuses (Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and
Institutional Rights Inc.).

* Successfully supported the constitutionality of the use of lethal injection to administer the death penalty
(Baze v. Rees).

* Successfully defended the constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act as applied to prohibit the
use of marijuana for medical purposes that were permitted by state law (Gonzales v. Raich).

* Successfully argued that the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule does not require exclusion of evidence
obtained following a violation of the knock-and-announce rule, which requires officers to knock
and announce their presence before entering a dwelling (Hudson v. Michigan).

*Successfully supported the existence of an individual constitutional right to bear arms for lawful purposes
such as self-defense in the home (District of Columbia v. Heller).

* Successfully advocated interpretations of antitrust and securities laws in various cases, including Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) v. Billing, where the Court held that conduct permitted by securities laws was
protected from suits under antitrust laws.

* Successfully argued important cases in lower federal courts, including challenges to warrantless electronic
surveillance of suspected terrorists (ACLU v. National Security Agency) and the President’s authority
to capture and detain alien enemy combatants who enter the United States like the 9/11 hijackers
(Al-Marri).

Now that Bush's guys are springing into action, it's gonna be a tough decade. :( Even though Obama is not responsible for what happens in the DOJ now, and by extension, Clinton is responsible for all the terrible arguments made by what we thought was the Bush DOJ, I still have hope for when Obama's appointees spring into action, hopefully around 2012-2013, but definitely by 2016. And when they do, ho boy, they're gonna overturn DOMA like you wouldn't believe!!!

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:sarcasm:

[dflprincess]

1. Now that I know that Bush is still running the DOJ

I understand why it won't pursue investigations into any war crimes committed during the Bush's term. Even though U.S. law forbids torture and it really should be the obligation of the Justice Department to enforce those laws.

It's also now clear why Don Siegelman's case isn't being reviewed.

I don't like it, but I understand it. If only Obama had some influence with Justice. :sarcasm:

[readmoreoften]

2. If only. But one can still hope and dream.

Its just so weird how unpopular presidents with conservative agendas always get their way and progressive candidates who promise big change are try and try and try SO HARD, but ya know what? All their arguments don't even make it into public record! I mean, imagine how pissed off Obama is now. I mean, he is SO against torture! He is SUCH a fierce advocate for teh gay. He is screaming to help Siegelman. But its like an Orwellian purgation of all these support memos, all these nights of total outrage at what the Bush/Cheney DOJ is doing. Has someone checked the windows of the White House? Is he hanging a white kerchief out the window? Does he need our help.

Gosh its all so sad. Such a big mystery!

[LuvNewcastle]

3. Maybe Obama can appoint

those guys to the bench so they won't be messing around with his Justice Dept. anymore. :D

[RandomThoughts]

4. The 93 Federal attorney Generals, and many posts in the DOJ

Are usually replaced at the beginning of an administration. Shortly after appointing Attorney General, Janet Reno Clinton replaced all 93 of the country's United States attorneys.

George W Bush also replaced the Attorney General, and the United States attorneys at the beginning of his first term.

President Obama is also making DOJ appointments.

What part of the DOJ are you speaking of that have 8 year carry overs.


It should be noted that the firing of DOJ United States attorneys done by Bush in 2005 was a controversial because they were Bush appointed Attorneys, that by most accounts were fired for not pursuing politically motivated prosecutions. This is different then what Clinton and Bush both did at the beginning of their term.

Also the patriot act was controversial since it changed the law by allowing the President to make short term appointments without congressional oversight or approval. An attempt to increase the power of the executive office.

Are you talking about Federal Judges? They carry over a bit more then DOJ attorneys, and more importantly are a separate branch of government. The DOJ is part of the executive branch unlike Federal Judges.

[readmoreoften]

5. Yes, I did notice that one of Obama's appointee's names was at the head of the DOMA briefing. /nt

[gcomeau]

6. What part of..

..."Bush politicized the Justice Department" do people apparently find so goddamn impossible to comprehend?