James Lyons (lawyer)

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For other persons named James Lyons, see James Lyons (disambiguation).

James M. "Jim" Lyons (born January 6, 1947) is an American lawyer, a former United States Observer to the International Fund for Ireland, a former character in the Whitewater controversy, and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

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[edit] Early life and education

Born in Joliet, Illinois, Lyons earned a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross in 1968. He earned a law degree from DePaul University College of Law in 1971.[1]

[edit] Professional career

Lyons has worked as a partner at the Denver law firm Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons since 1974.[2]

[edit] Political involvement

A longtime friend of President Bill Clinton, Lyons worked as General Counsel in the office of President-Elect Clinton from November 1992 until February 1993.[3] Lyons also won a presidential appointment to serve as a United States Observer to the International Fund for Ireland from 1993 until 2001 and also served as a Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for Economic Initiatives in Ireland from 1997 until 2001.[4]

Lyons is most known in political circles, however, for having been retained by President Clinton in 1992 to write a report about the Whitewater controversy. Lyons' report quieted criticism of Clinton, but it later was criticized by Republicans for not being objective.[5]

[edit] Nomination to the Tenth Circuit

On September 22, 1999, President Clinton nominated Lyons to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that opened up when Tenth Circuit Judge John Carbone Porfilio assumed senior status.[6] However, Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard used his home-state senator prerogative to block Lyons' nomination because of his ties to the Whitewater scandal. In an article in the Rocky Mountain News on December 11, 1999, Allard called Lyons' Whitewater report "a whitewash" and labeled Lyons "a political operative." "I'm interested in keeping the judiciary relatively free of politics," Allard told the paper. "If Nixon had a close political operative, and he was going to put him in the judiciary, I think there would be a lot of concerns about this. I think we need to look at Jim Lyons in that same vein - as a political operative." Lyons, however, told the paper that the work that he did for Clinton was essentially supported by an independent panel two years later, the Rocky Mountain News reported. "To say that the work I did for one client out of literally hundreds in the course of a career disqualifies me from being a federal judge is nothing less than grossly unfair," Lyons told the paper.[7]

With Lyons' nomination going nowhere in the U.S. Senate, the White House withdrew his nomination on June 6, 2000. The following month, President Clinton nominated Christine Arguello for the same post. However, with her nomination coming so late in Clinton's presidency, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee never held a hearing on Arguello's nomination, and her nomination expired when President George W. Bush took office.

Ultimately, President George W. Bush nominated Timothy Tymkovich to the Tenth Circuit seat in 2003. He won Senate confirmation later in 2003.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ William J. Clinton Foundation "President Nominates Members to the Federal Bench"
  2. ^ William J. Clinton Foundation "President Nominates Members to the Federal Bench"
  3. ^ THE WHITEWATER INQUIRY; Chronology of a Partnership and Interwoven Events - New York Times
  4. ^ James M. Lyons
  5. ^ Washingtonpost.com: U.S. Is Asked to Probe Failed Arkansas S&L
  6. ^ William J. Clinton Foundation "President Nominates Members to the Federal Bench"
  7. ^ Daily Howler: The New York Times does ID Moyers. So why did Dan Okrent say different?

[edit] External links