Allen Snyder (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Allen Roger Snyder is an American lawyer
and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
in 1967 and a law degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School
in 1971. He clerked for Supreme Court justices John Marshall Harlan II
in 1971 and William Rehnquist
in 1972.
during the Whitewater controversy
. In addition, Snyder represented actress Elizabeth Taylor
, successfully blocking an ABC-TV docudrama about her life, according to a September 2004 article about Hogan & Hartson in the Washingtonian magazine. And Snyder represented Netscape
as its chief corporate attorney during its antitrust fight against Microsoft
.
. Although he is a Democrat, Snyder's nomination initially was thought to be fairly uncontroversial, particularly given his long history as a Washington insider and his support from conservatives like Rehnquist, Sen. John Warner
, and former appeals court judge Robert Bork
. His nomination even received a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2000. However, with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate and a presidential election looming, Snyder's nomination languished. Ultimately, the Senate chose not to vote on the D.C. Circuit nominations of both Snyder and Elena Kagan
. Republican senators claimed that there was some question over whether those D.C. Circuit seats were even necessary, while Democratic senators charged that the Republican leadership in the Senate was trying to keep those two seats open until after the presidential election so that they could be filled with Republican appointees.
In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Miguel Estrada
to the seat to which Snyder had been nominated. Estrada's nomination ran into opposition from Democratic senators, and he withdrew his name from further consideration in early September 2003. Bush subsequently nominated Thomas B. Griffith
to that D.C. Circuit seat in 2004, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.
John G. Roberts, is a longtime resident of Bethesda, Maryland
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and a former nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Education and legal training
Snyder earned a bachelor's degree with distinction from George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in 1967 and a law degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1971. He clerked for Supreme Court justices John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
in 1971 and William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
in 1972.
Professional career
Snyder joined the Washington, D.C. law firm Hogan & Hartson in 1972 as an associate and later became a partner. During Bill Clinton's presidency, Snyder represented Deputy White House Counsel Bruce LindseyBruce Lindsey
Bruce R. Lindsey currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the William J. Clinton Foundation and splits his time between the Foundation's New York and Little Rock offices. He has been a long-time advisor to former President Bill Clinton...
during the Whitewater controversy
Whitewater controversy
The Whitewater controversy was an American politics controversy that began with the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, Jim and Susan McDougal in the Whitewater Development Corporation, a failed business venture in the 1970s and 1980s.A New York...
. In addition, Snyder represented actress Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, successfully blocking an ABC-TV docudrama about her life, according to a September 2004 article about Hogan & Hartson in the Washingtonian magazine. And Snyder represented Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
as its chief corporate attorney during its antitrust fight against Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
On September 22, 1999, President Clinton nominated Snyder to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to replace the seat held by the retiring Patricia WaldPatricia Wald
Patricia McGowan Wald is an American judge. Wald served as the chief judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and served as a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.Wald graduated from Connecticut College in 1948 and earned...
. Although he is a Democrat, Snyder's nomination initially was thought to be fairly uncontroversial, particularly given his long history as a Washington insider and his support from conservatives like Rehnquist, Sen. John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
, and former appeals court judge Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
. His nomination even received a hearing from the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2000. However, with Republicans in control of the U.S. Senate and a presidential election looming, Snyder's nomination languished. Ultimately, the Senate chose not to vote on the D.C. Circuit nominations of both Snyder and Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the Court's 112th justice and fourth female justice....
. Republican senators claimed that there was some question over whether those D.C. Circuit seats were even necessary, while Democratic senators charged that the Republican leadership in the Senate was trying to keep those two seats open until after the presidential election so that they could be filled with Republican appointees.
In 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Miguel Estrada
Miguel Estrada
Miguel Angel Estrada Castañeda is an attorney who became embroiled in controversy following his 2001 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
to the seat to which Snyder had been nominated. Estrada's nomination ran into opposition from Democratic senators, and he withdrew his name from further consideration in early September 2003. Bush subsequently nominated Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas B. Griffith
Thomas Beall Griffith is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before his appointment to the bench he was Senate Legal Counsel, the chief legal officer of the United States Senate...
to that D.C. Circuit seat in 2004, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.
After the failed nomination
After Snyder's nomination died, he resigned his partnership at Hogan & Hartson and took early retirement, according to a New York Times article on August 11, 2002. "Senator Specter congratulated me on how well things had gone and told me he was confident I would be confirmed and told me I would be a great judge," Snyder told the Times. "And then the committee never took a vote." Snyder, who is known to be close friends with Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
John G. Roberts, is a longtime resident of Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
.
See also
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Bill Clinton judicial appointment controversies