Douglas H. Ginsburg
Encyclopedia
Douglas Howard Ginsburg (born May 25, 1946) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
. He was appointed to this court in October 1986 by President Ronald Reagan
. He served as its Chief Judge from July 16, 2001 until February 10, 2008. Ginsburg was picked by Reagan to fill a United States Supreme Court vacancy in 1987, but the judge withdrew from consideration after his earlier marijuana
use created a controversy.
He is not related to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg
.
Ginsburg has announced that he will take senior status
in October 2011 and plans to join the faculty of New York University School of Law
in January 2012.
in 1963. Ginsburg went on to attend Cornell University
in 1964–1965 and then 1968–1970, when he received his B.S. degree. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School
in 1973, where he served on the University of Chicago Law Review
with Frank Easterbrook. He then became a law clerk
for US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
.
. From 1983 to 1986 he served in the Reagan administration, as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, in the Office of Management and Budget, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Since 1988 he has been an Adjunct Professor at the George Mason University School of Law
in Arlington, Virginia, where he teaches a seminar called "Readings in Legal Thought." He is also a Visiting Lecturer and Charles J. Merriam Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School
in Chicago
, Illinois
. Ginsburg has been a visiting professor at Columbia University Law School (1987–1988) and a visiting scholar at New York Law School
(2006–2008). He serves on the advisory boards of the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics, University College London
, Faculty of Laws; Law and Economics Center, George Mason University School of Law
; Competition Policy International; Journal of Competition Law & Economics
; Journal of Law, Economics & Policy
; Supreme Court Economic Review
; University of Chicago Law Review
; and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 2001–2008, and previously served on its Budget Committee, 1997–2001, and Committee on Judicial Resources, 1987–1996; American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Council, 1985–1986 (ex officio), 2000–2003 and 2009–2012 (judicial liaison); Boston University Law School, Visiting Committee, 1994–1997; and University of Chicago Law School, Visiting Committee, 1985–1988.
announced his intention to nominate Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Lewis F. Powell
. Ginsburg was chosen after a Senate controlled by Democrats had rejected the nomination of Judge Robert Bork
after a bruising, partisan confirmation battle.
Ginsburg's nomination would collapse for entirely opposite reasons from Bork's rejection, as he almost immediately came under some fire when NPR's Nina Totenberg
revealed that Ginsburg had used marijuana
"on a few occasions" during his student days in the 1960s and while an Assistant Professor at Harvard in the 1970s. It was Ginsburg's continued use of marijuana after graduation and as a professor that made his indiscretions more serious in the minds of many Senators and members of the public.
Due to these allegations, Ginsburg withdrew his name from consideration, and remained on the federal appellate bench, where he is still a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, serving as the DC Circuit's chief judge for most of the 2000s. Anthony Kennedy
was then nominated and confirmed as the 107th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
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United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
. He was appointed to this court in October 1986 by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. He served as its Chief Judge from July 16, 2001 until February 10, 2008. Ginsburg was picked by Reagan to fill a United States Supreme Court vacancy in 1987, but the judge withdrew from consideration after his earlier marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
use created a controversy.
He is not related to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
.
Ginsburg has announced that he will take senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
in October 2011 and plans to join the faculty of New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
in January 2012.
Education
Ginsburg graduated from The Latin School of ChicagoThe Latin School of Chicago
The Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle and high school in the Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery.- History :...
in 1963. Ginsburg went on to attend Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1964–1965 and then 1968–1970, when he received his B.S. degree. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
in 1973, where he served on the University of Chicago Law Review
University of Chicago Law Review
The University of Chicago Law Review is a law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School, and was established in 1933. From 1942 through 1945 the review was published by the faculty, due to World War II. Prominent former student members have included Judge Abner J...
with Frank Easterbrook. He then became a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
for US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
.
Teaching and other public service experience
From 1975 to 1983 Ginsburg was a professor at Harvard Law SchoolHarvard 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...
. From 1983 to 1986 he served in the Reagan administration, as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, in the Office of Management and Budget, and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Since 1988 he has been an Adjunct Professor at the George Mason University School of Law
George Mason University School of Law
George Mason University School of Law is the law school of George Mason University, a state university in Virginia, United States...
in Arlington, Virginia, where he teaches a seminar called "Readings in Legal Thought." He is also a Visiting Lecturer and Charles J. Merriam Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Ginsburg has been a visiting professor at Columbia University Law School (1987–1988) and a visiting scholar at New York Law School
New York Law School
New York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
(2006–2008). He serves on the advisory boards of the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, Faculty of Laws; Law and Economics Center, George Mason University School of Law
George Mason University School of Law
George Mason University School of Law is the law school of George Mason University, a state university in Virginia, United States...
; Competition Policy International; Journal of Competition Law & Economics
Journal of Competition Law & Economics
The Journal of Competition Law & Economics is a quarterly peer-reviewed law journal dedicated to competition law and economics, published by Oxford University Press. The journal was established in March 2004. The first issue was published in March 2005. The editors are J...
; Journal of Law, Economics & Policy
Journal of Law, Economics & Policy
The Journal of Law, Economics & Policy is a peer-reviewed journal of law and economics published by students at the George Mason University School of Law. The journal was established in 2005 and publishes two issues annually - one general issue and one issue produced from an annual symposium....
; Supreme Court Economic Review
Supreme Court Economic Review
The Supreme Court Economic Review is an academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. The journal applies economic and legal scholarship to the work of the United States Supreme Court. Articles consider the implicit or explicit economic reasoning employed by the Court to reach its...
; University of Chicago Law Review
University of Chicago Law Review
The University of Chicago Law Review is a law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School, and was established in 1933. From 1942 through 1945 the review was published by the faculty, due to World War II. Prominent former student members have included Judge Abner J...
; and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.
He was a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 2001–2008, and previously served on its Budget Committee, 1997–2001, and Committee on Judicial Resources, 1987–1996; American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, Council, 1985–1986 (ex officio), 2000–2003 and 2009–2012 (judicial liaison); Boston University Law School, Visiting Committee, 1994–1997; and University of Chicago Law School, Visiting Committee, 1985–1988.
U.S. Supreme Court nomination
In 1987, President Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
announced his intention to nominate Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Lewis F. Powell
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He developed a reputation as a judicial moderate, and was known as a master of compromise and consensus-building. He was also widely well regarded by contemporaries due to his personal good manners and...
. Ginsburg was chosen after a Senate controlled by Democrats had rejected the nomination of 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...
after a bruising, partisan confirmation battle.
Ginsburg's nomination would collapse for entirely opposite reasons from Bork's rejection, as he almost immediately came under some fire when NPR's Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg is an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio focusing primarily on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court of the United States. Her reports air regularly on NPR's newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition...
revealed that Ginsburg had used marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
"on a few occasions" during his student days in the 1960s and while an Assistant Professor at Harvard in the 1970s. It was Ginsburg's continued use of marijuana after graduation and as a professor that made his indiscretions more serious in the minds of many Senators and members of the public.
Due to these allegations, Ginsburg withdrew his name from consideration, and remained on the federal appellate bench, where he is still a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, serving as the DC Circuit's chief judge for most of the 2000s. Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony McLeod Kennedy is an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, Kennedy has often been the swing vote on many of the Court's politically charged 5–4 decisions...
was then nominated and confirmed as the 107th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
External links
- University of Chicago Faculty Bio
- George Mason University Faculty Bio
- Reagan's Remarks in Nomination to the Supreme Court
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