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Justice on Demand

Anyone who believed that the Obama Justice Department would operate independently has had their illusions shattered.  Department attorneys opined that the attempt to create a congressman for Washington, D.C. was unconstitutional, but were overruled by Attorney General Eric Holder.  Reports the Washington Post:

Justice Department lawyers concluded in an unpublished opinion earlier this year that the historic D.C. voting rights bill pending in Congress is unconstitutional, according to sources briefed on the issue. But Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who supports the measure, ordered up a second opinion from other lawyers in his department and determined that the legislation would pass muster.

A finding that the voting rights bill runs afoul of the Constitution could complicate an upcoming House vote and make the measure more vulnerable to a legal challenge that probably would reach the Supreme Court if it is enacted. The bill, which would give the District a vote in the House for the first time, appeared to be on the verge of passing last month before stalling when pro-gun legislators tried to attach an amendment weakening city gun laws. Supporters say it could reach the House floor in May.

In deciding that the measure is unconstitutional, lawyers in the department's Office of Legal Counsel matched a conclusion reached by their Bush administration counterparts nearly two years ago, when a lawyer there testified that a similar bill would not withstand legal attack.

Holder rejected the advice and sought the opinion of the solicitor general's office, where lawyers told him that they could defend the legislation if it were challenged after its enactment.

What decision will the Attorney General next politicize?

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Pingback| 4.1.09 @ 6:40AM

Justice on Demand — But As For Me links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Anyone who believed that the Obama Justice Department would operate independently has had their illusions shattered.  Department attorneys opined that the attempt to create a congressman… → Read full article… Justice on Demand { 0 comments… add one now } Leave a Comment Name * E-mail * Website You can use these HTML tags and attributes:

Pingback| 4.1.09 @ 10:15AM

Wednesday with the snark | And Still I Persist links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…a joke?): To channel Glenn Reynolds here, they said if we voted for McCain, we’d end up with a Justice Department where politically incorrect legal opinions would be suppressed and overturned. And they were right! Justice Department lawyers concluded in an unpublished opinion earlier this year that the historic D.C. voting rights bill pending in Congress is unconstitutional, according to sources briefed on the…

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More Blog Posts by Doug Bandow

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/04/01/justice-on-demand
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