Dawn Johnsen
Encyclopedia
Dawn Elizabeth Johnsen is an American lawyer and professor of Constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....

, who is currently on the faculty at Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

. She worked at the Office of Legal Counsel
Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General in his function as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies.-History:...

 in the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

 from 1993 to 1998 and served as acting Assistant Attorney General from 1997 to 1998; she was twice nominated to the post in the Obama Administration. Johnsen's first nomination was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...

 in March 2009 in a party line vote, but was not acted on by the full Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 before it recessed at the end of 2009. Obama then renominated her to the post on January 20, 2010 but on April 9, 2010, Johnsen withdrew her name from consideration.

Early life and education

Born in Manhasset, New York
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....

, Johnsen attended Carle Place High School
Carle Place High School
Carle Place Middle/High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school located in the hamlet of Carle Place in Nassau County, New York....

 in Carle Place, New York
Carle Place, New York
Carle Place is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. As of 2010 the CDP population was 4,981...

, graduating in 1979 as its salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...

. She received her B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 summa cum laude in economics and political science at Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...

 in 1983 and her J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 at Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...

 in 1986, where she served as an Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal
Yale Law Journal
The Yale Law Journal is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School...

.

After graduating law school, Johnsen clerked for United States Appeals Court Judge Richard Dickson Cudahy
Richard Dickson Cudahy
Richard Dickson Cudahy is a United States federal judge.Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cudahy received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1948, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1955. He was a Lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps from 1948 to 1951....

 of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...

 from September 1986 until August 1987.

Professional career

Johnsen worked for the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

 as a staff counsel fellow on a one-year fellowship from 1987 until 1988, and then worked for the National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (currently NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...

) from 1988 until 1993. From 1993 to 1998, Johnsen worked in the Office of Legal Counsel
Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General in his function as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies.-History:...

. She was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1993 until 1996, and served as Acting Assistant Attorney General heading the OLC from 1997 until 1998. Johnsen joined the Indiana University faculty in 1998 upon leaving government service.

Johnsen is a member of the national board of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy is a progressive legal organization that promotes the U.S. Constitutional values of "individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and the rule of law." The American Bar Association Journal described it as "the...

.

Nomination to Office of Legal Counsel

As President-Elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...

, Obama announced his intention to nominate Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel
Office of Legal Counsel
The Office of Legal Counsel is an office in the United States Department of Justice that assists the Attorney General in his function as legal adviser to the President and all executive branch agencies.-History:...

 in the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...

. Her nomination was approved by the Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote and sent to the full Senate on March 19, 2009.

In December 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...

, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, called on the Senate to approve Johnsen and several other nominees, and denounced the "unprecedented delays in the consideration of qualified and noncontroversial nominations". The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

 agreed, editorializing that the treatment of Johnsen's nomination was a "travesty" and adding: "Ms. Johnsen is highly qualified and should be confirmed. At the very least, senators should have the decency to give her an up-or-down vote." Nevertheless, the Senate did not act on the nomination before it ended its 2009 session. As a result, the nomination was sent back to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

, leaving Obama to decide whether to renominate Johnsen. Obama also had the option of making a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...

, which would have enabled Johnsen to fill the post until the end of the 2010 session of the Senate.

In early January 2010, White House officials began telling reporters that Obama was planning to renominate Johnsen to head the OLC. On January 20, 2010, Obama renominated Johnsen to the post.

Criticisms of Bush administration

The nomination encountered opposition from Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 who cited Johnson's criticisms of the OLC during the administration of President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

reported that she had criticized OLC memoranda
One Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....

, said that Johnsen did not have the “requisite seriousness” for the post. A Democratic member of the committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse is the junior U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party...

, called such attacks hypocritical in light of Republicans' silence about the OLC during the Bush administration: "Where were you when those incompetent, ideological opinions were being issued?"

Defense of abortion rights

At Johnsen's confirmation hearing, Senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...

 questioned her about a statement she had written suggesting that laws restricting abortion might violate of the Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially abolished and continues to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, passed by the House on January 31, 1865, and adopted on December 6, 1865. On...

, which prohibits "slavery [and] involuntary servitude." Specter's criticism focused on a footnote in an amicus curiae brief Johnson had co-authored as a lawyer for the National Abortion Rights Action League in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, 492 U.S. 490 , was a United States Supreme Court decision on July 3, 1989 upholding a Missouri law that imposed restrictions on the use of state funds, facilities, and employees in performing, assisting with, or counseling on abortions...

, which described restrictions on the right to abortion as "disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the 13th Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires [a woman] to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest." However, Johnsen asserted that she "hadn't actually equated outlawing abortion with slavery, but was just making an analogy". Specter cited Andrew Koppelman
Andrew Koppelman
Andrew Koppelman is professor of law and political science at Northwestern University.As of May 2007, Koppelman is a contributing writer to the legal blog Balkinization.-Education:...

, Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...

, as a legal scholar who had interpreted Johnsen's brief in Webster as stating that restrictions on abortion violated the Thirteenth Amendment. However, Koppelman responded by publishing a letter to Specter in which he said that the accusation against Johnsen was false and a distortion of his writing. Specifically, Koppelman argues, of the reference to involuntary servitude in the above amicus brief, that "to say that one thing is 'disturbingly suggestive' of another is hardly the same as saying that it is identical to that other thing"

Representative Steve King
Steve King
Steven Arnold "Steve" King is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district is located in the western part of the state and includes Sioux City and Council Bluffs....

 (R-Iowa) has repeatedly criticized several other portions of the amicus brief described above, including in a letter to President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 in which he claimed that Johnsen wrote that restrictive laws on abortion "reduce pregnant women to no more than fetal containers" King also criticized one portion of another amicus brief coauthored by Johnsen in Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic which King claims includes "the terrorist behavior of petitioners is remarkably similar to the conspiracy of violence and intimidation carried out by the Ku Klux Klan."

Support and opposition

On April 16, 2009, Johnsen's nomination was endorsed by the Society of American Law Teachers, which described her as "an expert on Constitutional Law with an impressive resume of scholarship that illustrates the depth of her understanding of American jurisprudence."

As of May 2009, there were believed to be 37 Republican Senators (out of 40) who would vote against confirming Johnsen. Her nomination was endorsed by Senator Richard Lugar, a senior Republican from Johnsen's state of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. The remaining two Republicans, Senators Susan Collins
Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins is the junior United States Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1996, she is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs...

 and Olympia Snowe
Olympia Snowe
Olympia Jean Snowe , née Bouchles, is the senior United States Senator from Maine and a member of the Republican Party. Snowe has become widely known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters. She and her fellow Senator from Maine, Susan Collins,...

 of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, have not announced their positions. One other Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson
Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000....

 of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, joined Specter in expressing opposition to the nomination, but neither Nelson nor Specter publicly stated whether he would vote for a cloture
Cloture
In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...

 motion to end a threatened Republican filibuster
Filibuster
A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...

. Johnsen was supported by the remaining 57 Democrats as of May 2009.

Specter change of position

After Specter switched to the Democratic Party, Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Joe Sestak announced that he would challenge Specter in the Democratic primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

 in 2010. In January 2010, Sestak criticized Specter for his role in blocking Johnsen's nomination. Shortly thereafter, Specter announced that he would vote to confirm Johnsen. By some counts, therefore, Johnsen's nomination may have had the 60 votes needed to overcome the threatened Republican filibuster, although the special election of Republican Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a United States senator.Scott Brown may also refer to:-Sportsmen:*Scott Brown , American college football coach of Kentucky State...

 to be Massachusetts' junior senator might have complicated that.

Withdrawal from consideration

Johnsen's nomination was withdrawn on April 9, 2010. In a statement, Johnsen mentioned that the delays and strong political opposition had threatened her ability to restore the non-partisanship and efficiency of the Office of Legal Counsel.

Personal

Johnsen is a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 who teaches Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

. She and her husband, community development finance executive John Mark Hamilton, have two children. Hamilton sought the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Indiana's 8th congressional district
Indiana's 8th congressional district
Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in Southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville and also includes Terre Haute, Vincennes and Washington....

 in 2000, but was defeated in the primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

.

Johnsen's brother-in-law is United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:* Central District of Illinois* Northern District of Illinois...

 Judge David Hamilton
David Hamilton (judge)
David Frank Hamilton is a United States federal judge, currently serving on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He previously was the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. On March 17, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK