Help Confirm Dawn Johnsen as Head of the Office of Legal Counsel

Please e-mail your U.S. Senators and urge them to support a prompt vote for the confirmation of Professor Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).  You may modify the letter below with your own words if you wish, but please send your letter as soon as possible.

The Office of Legal Counsel is an important division of the Department of Justice that advises the White House and federal agencies—including the Department of Justice itself—on legal issues ranging from voting rights to reproductive freedom.

After eight years of ideological partisanship, the OLC is in need of new direction. Professor Johnsen is ideally suited to provide that leadership.

As a distinguished legal scholar and one who has previously served in the OLC, Professor Johnsen has a unique understanding of the limits of executive power and how to protect society against its abuse. She is eminently qualified for an essential role in restoring integrity to the OLC.

Although Professor Johnsen has the support of the majority of senators and the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee, some partisan Senators are threatening to filibuster her nomination. Please insist to your Senators that they should quickly confirm Professor Johnsen so that the Senate can move on and Professor Johnsen can begin the important work of returning integrity to the Office of Legal Counsel.

By sending your letter, you will be helping the U.S. regain its integrity as a nation devoted to the rule of law.

Thank you!

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Confirm Professor Dawn Johnsen as Head of OLC

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a Friend of the Center for Inquiry, I urge you to support a prompt vote for the confirmation of Professor Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the Department of Justice. The Center for Inquiry is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to the separation of church and state, civil rights, and the rule of law.

The OLC frequently advises the White House and the federal agencies about the limits of law in important matters ranging from voting rights to religious discrimination. The Center for Inquiry is concerned that the OLC adhere strictly to the rule of law rather than adding the appearance of legality to ideological decisions, as was the case during the previous administration.

Professor Johnsen is a distinguished legal scholar who served in the OLC during the 1990's. She showed her concern for the OLC when the integrity of the office was suspect by helping to craft legislation to bring greater transparency to the office. In 2004, she organized a group of former OLC attorneys to write a statement of principles for the office that received bipartisan praise.

The OLC needs new direction and Professor Johnsen is ideally placed to provide it. Her experience and passion for the law give her the wisdom and courage to tell the President what is legal and constitutional, regardless of whether or not it is politically expedient.

We believe that the confirmation of Professor Johnsen will contribute significantly to re-establishing the reputation of the U.S. as a nation governed by laws, not ideology. Please confirm her nomination as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 05, 2009


Background Information

What's at stake? Nothing less than upholding the law and the U.S. Constitution. The Office of Legal Counsel OLC) in the Department of Justice acts like an in-house Supreme Court deciding on the legality of issues ranging from voting rights to religious discrimination. It advises the President and the executive branch agencies as to whether proposed executive orders or regulations are within the law and the Constitution.

During the Bush administration, the OLC betrayed its commitment to law by bending its opinions to the political and ideological requests of the White House. Most notoriously, the OLC issued memoranda that permitted the administration to authorize harsh interrogation methods, and to authorize wiretapping without warrants.

Professor Dawn Johnsen’s experience serving in the OLC for five years in the 1990s, including as acting director, make her well qualified to serve as head of the OLC. She was so concerned by the perversion of the OLC under the Bush administration that she convened a group of 19 former OLC attorneys who drew up a statement of principles for the OLC. This statement received bipartisan approval and admiration.

The Center for Inquiry has a strong interest in ensuring that the OLC will safeguard reproductive freedom for all.  Professor Johnsen is a former Legal Director of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (now NARAL Pro-Choice America) and a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project.  The Religious Right has undertaken a campaign to sink Professor Johnsen’s nomination because she is an experienced advocate for reproductive freedom. Under the leadership of Professor Johnsen, we are confident that the OLC’s recommendations will be based on a sound and objective consideration of the law, and will not be colored by ideological and religious objections to reproductive freedoms.

Although Professor Johnsen has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, her nomination is threatened by a minority of Senators. They are threatening a filibuster, although many senators declared that they would never filibuster a President’s nominee. Instead of further delay, the Senate should schedule a vote and move on to other pressing issues such as health care, energy, and education.

Professor Johnsen is a distinguished legal scholar who has a unique understanding of the limits of executive power and how to protect society against its abuse. She is eminently qualified for an essential role in restoring integrity to the OLC.  The nation needs her to begin her important work as soon as possible. Please send email or call your U.S. Senators to urge her confirmation NOW. 

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