Commonwealth of Virginia, Ex Rel. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II v. Sebelius

Filing 149

Memorandum in Support re 148 MOTION for Leave to File Brief as Amici Curiae filed by William P. Barr, Edwin Meese, III, Richard L. Thornburgh. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Amici Curiae Brief, # 2 Proposed Order)(Zurawski, Tara)

Commonwealth of Virginia, Ex Rel. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II v. Sebelius

Doc. 149

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA RICHMOND DIVISION COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, EX REL. KENNETH T. CUCCINELLI, II, in his official capacity as Attorney General of Virginia, Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) ) v. ) ) KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, ) Secretary of the Department of ) Health and Human Services, ) in her official capacity, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________)

No. 3:10-cv-00188-HEH

MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PARTICIPATE AS AMICI CURIAE OF FORMER UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS GENERAL WILLIAM BARR, EDWIN MEESE, III, AND DICK THORNBURGH, IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Former United States Attorneys General William Barr, Edwin Meese, III, and Dick Thornburgh file this Memorandum in support of their Motion for Leave to Participate as Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment. I. INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE Movants are former Attorneys General of the United States. In that office, each was the chief lawyer of the Federal Government's Executive Branch and led the Department of Justice. Edwin Meese, III served as Attorney General under President Reagan from 1985 to 1988. In addition, from 1981 to 1985, he was a Counselor to President Reagan. Dick Thornburgh succeeded Mr. Meese, serving as Attorney General under President Reagan as well as President George H. W. Bush from 1988 to 1991. Before that, he was a two-term Governor of Pennsylvania, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Criminal

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Division (under President Ford), and a United States Attorney (under President Nixon). William Barr succeeded Mr. Thornburgh, serving as Attorney General from 1991 until the end of President Bush's administration in 1993. He also served as Deputy Attorney General (1990-91) and Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (1989-90). An important part of movants' duties as Attorneys General, including in working with and overseeing the Justice Department's Office of the Solicitor General and Office of Legal Counsel, was to interpret, advise on, enforce, and vindicate in court both the powers that the United States Constitution truly grants to the Federal Government and the limits that the Constitution sets on governmental powers. In light of this experience, and the continuing sense of duty it has instilled, movants wish to present their views on the important issues implicated by this case in the hope that they will assist the Court. II. GROUNDS FOR GRANTING THE MOTION This Court has broad discretion to grant the request of movants to participate as amici curiae. See Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc. v. City of York, 162 F.R.D. 34, 36 (M.D.Pa. 1995); Concerned Area Residents for Environment v. Southview Farm, 834 F. Supp. 1410, 1413 (W.D.N.Y. 1993). In this case, the Court has entered an Order providing for the filing of amicus briefs. Movants' brief is being filed in accordance with the requirements of the Court's Order. Movants believe that the proposed brief may be of assistance to the Court. See Peters v. Jenney, 327 F.3d 307, 319 n. 13 (4th Cir. 2003) (noting that an amicus curiae brief was "helpful to the court"); Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond, 317 F. Supp. 555, 576 (E.D. Va. 1970) (same).

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III.

CONCLUSION For the reasons set forth above, the Motion for Leave to Participate as Amici Curiae in

Support of the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted. DATED: October 8, 2010 Respectfully submitted, By: /s/_Tara Lynn R. Zurawski___ Edwin L. Fountain (VA Bar No. 31918) Tara Lynn R. Zurawski (VA Bar No. 73602) JONES DAY 51 Louisiana Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Email: [e-mail] Of Counsel: Michael A. Carvin C. Kevin Marshall JONES DAY 51 Louisiana Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 [phone] Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Email: [e-mail] Attorneys for Amici Curiae

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on the 8th day of October, 2010, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send a notification of such filing (NEF) to the following: Earle Duncan Getchell, Jr. Charles E. James, Jr. Stephen R. McCullough Wesley Glenn Russell, Jr. Office of the Attorney General 900 E. Main Street Richmond, VA 23219 Jonathan Holland Hambrick Office of the U.S. Attorney 600 E Main Street Suite 1800 Richmond, VA 23219 Erika Myers Ian Gershengorn Joel McElvain Sheila M. Lieber Department of Justice Federal Programs Branch 20 Massachusetts Ave., NW Room 7332 Washington, DC 20001 Colby M. May American Center for Law & Justice 201 Maryland Ave., NE Washington, DC 20002 /s/_Tara Lynn R. Zurawski___ Tara Lynn R. Zurawski (VA Bar No. 73602) JONES DAY 51 Louisiana Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [e-mail]

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