John D. Bates

John D. Bates (born October 11, 1946), a United States District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001.

Personal

Bates graduated from Wesleyan University in 1968 and received a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976. From 1968 to 1971, he served in the United States Army, including a tour in Vietnam.

He and his wife Carol Alwyrres Rhees, also a former lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson LLP, live in Bethesda, Maryland. The two have three children.

Career

Bates clerked for Judge Roszel C. Thomsen of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland from 1976 to 1977 and was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson from 1977 to 1980. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1980 to 1997, and was Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office from 1987 to 1997. Judge Bates was on detail as Deputy Independent Counsel for the Whitewater investigation from 1995 to mid-1997. In 1998, he joined the Washington law firm of Miller & Chevalier, where he was Chair of the Government Contracts/Litigation Department and a member of the Executive Committee.

From September 1995 until leaving in March 1997, Bates worked as Deputy Independent Counsel for Kenneth Starr and the Independent Counsel's office during the investigation into President Bill Clinton.

Bates has served on the Advisory Committee for Procedures of the D.C. Circuit and on the Civil Justice Reform Committee for the District Court, and as Treasurer of the D.C. Bar, Chairman of the Publications Committee of the D.C. Bar, and Chairman of the Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. In 2005, he was appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to serve on the U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management. In February 2006, he was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to serve as a judge of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Notable rulings

* On July 31, 2008, U.S. District Judge Bates ruled, in a dispute between the Administrative and Legislative branches, that President George W. Bush's advisers, chief of staff Josh Bolten and former legal counsel Harriet Miers, are not immune from congressional subpoenas to testify about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys and turn over all related, non-privileged documents. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Contempt.html Judge Rules White House Aides Can Be Subpoenaed.] Associated Press via New York Times. July 31, 2008.] [ [https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0409-49 Text of "Committee on the Judiciary v. Meiers" from US Courts website] . Accessed July 31, 2008.]

*As a District Court Judge, Bates dismissed the GAO's effort to learn with whom Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force conferred. [GAO Cites Corporate Shaping of Energy Plan. Washington Post. August 26, 2003. A1.]

*On July 19, 2007, he dismissed a lawsuit filed by Valerie Plame Wilson and her husband against Vice President Dick Cheney, White House political adviser Karl Rove, former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. Plame's lawyers had said from the beginning of the lawsuit that it would be quite difficult to win, since public officials and servants are generally immune from such suits filed in connection with their jobs. Plame's identity as a CIA field operative was revealed in a syndicated newspaper column in 2003. This revelation coincided with (Plame's husband) Wilson's criticism of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. Many opponents of the administration question the timing of the leak of Plame's identity, and assign blame of the leak to officials in the administration. Although several administration officials were questioned in an investigation of the leak, no formal charges were brought, and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was then found guilty of lying and obstruction of the investigation as a consequence of his lying. President George W. Bush consequently commuted Libby's sentence, preventing him from doing any prison time at all.Fact|date=March 2008

* "Dismissed a lawsuit by outed spy Valerie Plame and her husband against Vice President Dick Cheney and other top Bush administration officials." Judge Bates stated in his ruling that the couple's allegations "pose important questions relating to the propriety of actions undertaken by our highest government officials," but that he had to dismiss their claims for jurisdictional reasons. While saying the Bush administration officials' actions "may have been highly unsavory," Bates nonetheless ruled "there can be no serious dispute" that speaking to the press to rebut Wilson's criticism was "within the scope of defendants' duties as high-level Executive Branch officials." [ [http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/19/cia.leak/index.html?eref=rss_topstories|Judge John D. Bates Appointed to the FISA Court] . Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved on March 24, 2006]

* "In a December 30, 2002 decision, Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court ruled that lead plaintiff Representative Dennis Kucinich and 31 other Members of the House of Representatives have no standing to challenge President Bush’s withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty without congressional approval. He also ruled that the case presents a “political question” not suitable for resolution by the courts."

Notes

References

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External links

* [http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/bates-bio.html John D. Bates official biography]
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/78.html Presidential Nomination: John D. Bates]
* [https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2008cv0409-49 "Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives v. Harriet Miers, et al."] , Civil Action No. 08-0409, Memorandum Opinion, (D.D.C., July 31, 2008)