Bill Lockyer
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William Westwood "Bill" Lockyer (born May 8, 1941) is the current Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice for the U.S. state of California, as well as California State Treasurer-elect. He was elected in 1999 on the Democratic ticket, and is currently serving his second four-year term. Previously he was a member of the California State Assembly and served as President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate.
He is an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a BA in political science in 1965. As an undergraduate, he founded the Cal Berkeley Democrats. He is also an alumnus of the McGeorge School of Law. Lockyer has been married to Nadia Maria Davis since April 2003, and was married twice before. [1]
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[edit] Politics
The Wall Street Journal reported that during the California energy crisis, Lockyer offered up to hundreds of millions of dollars in rewards for information about illegal conduct in the energy business.[1]
[edit] Prison-rape controversy
Lockyer achieved some notoriety for a May 2001 press conference in which he said, "I would love to personally escort [Enron CEO Kenneth Lay] to an 8-by-10 cell that he could share with a tattooed dude who says, 'Hi, my name is Spike, honey'"; this statement was condemned as supporting prison rape.[2][3] Lockyer later apologized for the statement in a letter to the Los Angeles Times, saying, "My anger over the activities of energy barons doesn't come close to my lifelong outrage at the crime of rape. ... I guess I let my anger get the better of me..."[4]
[edit] Gun Control
Lockyer's efforts in the field of gun control have met with problems. After initial publicity surrounding assault weapon issues declined post-2000, his Department of Justice failed to update the list of California-banned assault weapons for over five years. This allowed over 30,000 assault weapon frames to be imported legally into California, whose owners assembled these frames into rifles differing from the generic assault weapon legal definition. These weapons differed from banned weapons only in name and the lack of a 99-cent plastic pistol grip or a small fixed magazine.[verification needed]
In 2005, over four thousand Walther target pistols already sold to Californians had to be recalled and retrofitted. Lockyer’s DOJ had certified them to be “safe handguns” and approved for retail sale, even though they had a banned assault weapons feature at the time of certification.[verification needed]
[edit] Global Warming Public Nuisance Complaint
On September 20th 2006, Lockyer filed a lawsuit against what his office refers to as "the big six automakers" for their alleged contributions to the global warming problem. Initial reaction was mixed, with some environmental groups being supportive, and an auto industry trade calling it a "nuisance suit". A similar suit in New York had been dismissed by a federal court and is now on appeal.[5]
[edit] Recent Events
Recently, Lockyer has been giving annual speeches to the California YMCA Youth and Government meeting in Sacramento, in which 10th through 12th graders travel to the capitol to learn about their state's government, and take part in interactive government-related activities.
Lockyer's office has also been conducting a criminal investigation into the Hewlett-Packard pretexting scandal to ascertain whether or not the investigators authorized by Chairman Patricia C. Dunn to discover the source of leaks from within the company illegally obtained home phone records and cell phone records of HP board members, and has stated that the department has sufficient evidence to charge HP insiders and the private investigators.[6][7]
[edit] Related
[edit] References
- ^ Emshwiller, John. "California Blame Game Yields No Score --- Probes Reveal Little Evidence Suppliers Acted Illegally", Wall Street Journal, 2001-05-22, pp. A2.
- ^ Palmer, Tom. "'Hi, My Name Isn't Justice, Honey,' and Shame on Lockyer", Los Angeles Times, 2001-06-06, pp. B11.
- ^ King, Peter. "Maybe the Texas Power Folks Felt It Was Time to Let Prices Drop", Los Angeles Times, 2001-06-10, pp. B1.
- ^ "Lockyer Regrets 'Crude Remark'", Los Angeles Times, 2001-06-20, pp. B12.
- ^ Kahn, Michael. "California sues carmakers", Reuters, 2001-09-20.
- ^ Streitfeld, David, Granelli, James S. and Menn, Joseph. "Spiraling Scandal Engulfs Tech Icon", Los Angeles Times, 2006-09-08, pp. A1.
- ^ Associated Press. "Criminal charges for HP?", Dubuque Telegraph Herald, 2006-09-14, pp. D4.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dan Lungren |
California Attorney General 1999–2007 |
Succeeded by Jerry Brown |
| Preceded by Phil Angelides |
California State Treasurer 2007– |
Succeeded by incumbent |
