The Attorney General's Lawyer: Inside the Meese Justice Department [Hardcover]

Douglas W. Kmiec (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275939839 | ISBN-13: 978-0275939830 | Publication Date: May 30, 1992

This book offers an inside look at the principal decision makers and the major legal and constitutional decisions made in the Department of Justice under Attorney General Edwin Meese. This unique perspective is offered by Douglas Kmiec, former assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). His story is a fascinating chronicle and analysis of the significant issues addressed during and since the Reagan years. These important issues include: the controversy over methods of constitutional interpretation; the legitimacy of independent counsels; efforts by the president to control executive agencies and to keep Congress in check; family issues, including abortion, AIDS, limitations on pornography, and school choice; the protection of property and economic liberty; the declining role of state and local governments; quotas, affirmative action, and civil rights; the continuing saga of Iran-Contra; and contemporary calls for ethics reform. Important as a historical and legal analysis of the Reagan years, this work will be of interest to scholars and readers concerned with contemporary social and constitutional issues, the ramifications of the Reagan presidency, and how things have changed under George Bush. It is also the first revealing look at constitutional decisionmaking within OLC, an office that counts among its alumni the present Attorney General and two members of the Supreme Court.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A distinguished law professor (Univ. of Notre Dame) and the author of numerous books and articles on various legal subjects, Kmiec has the professional credentials to prepare this study of the Department of Justice while Edwin Meese III was attorney general. Kmiec essentially writes about his experiences and personal recollections in the Office of Legal Counsel, 1985-89. He discusses the great matters of public concern with which the Department was involved in litigation (e.g., abortion, federalism, pornography, and race relations) and details the process and constitutional rationale for decisions which were made.”–Choice

“Professor Kmiec provides an accurate and insightful look at the work of the Department of Justice and, in particular, the Office of Legal Counsel. . . . This book recounts many of the constitutional and statutory issues upon which Professor Kmiec provided principled and candid legal advice to the President, to me, and indeed, to the entire executive branch. . . . This book is a vital addition to the undistorted history of the Reagan presidency and American justice.”–Edwin Meese III `75'th Attorney General of the United States from the Foreword

“An insider's incisive account of clashes over law and principle within the Reagan Justice Department. This valuable book will further solidify Professor Kmiec's prominent place among the conservative legal scholars of his generation.”– Robert C. Ellickson Academic Dean and Meyer Professor of Law Yale University

“Douglas Kmiec's new book . . . discusses not only the many hot button issues that concerned the Reagan Justice Department, but provides fascinating insight into the controversial personalities who helped shape and defend public policy during those tumultuous years. Well-written, well documented, it broadens our understanding of the conflicts both within the Justice Department and between the office of the Solicitor General and the Supreme Court. It is both insightful and vastly informative. Anyone interested in the inner workings of justice in our national government ought to read this book.”– Henry J. Hyde Member of Congress

“Douglas Kmiec's inside view of the Justice Department during the latter Reagan years illustrates how the clash of politics and constitutional theory can take place at the highest levels of government. . . . Kmiec writes with care so as not to overstate his case, and carefully sets the stage for his own position by a dispassionate review of the historical materials. The book provides another window to an important and easily misunderstood chapter of our not too distant past.”– Richard A. Epstein James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law The University of Chicago

About the Author

DOUGLAS W. KMIEC is a Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (May 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275939839
• ISBN-13: 978-0275939830
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,315,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ambassador Kmiec served on the faculty at University of Notre Dame Law School from 1980 to 1999, with several leaves to serve in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). Having served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in OLC from 1985-88, he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate in 1988 as head of OLC. He returned to Notre Dame in 1989, where he directed the Thomas White Center on Law & Government and founded the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. Ambassador Kmiec then served as the Dean and St. Thomas More Professor of the law school at the Catholic University of America until he assumed the endowed chair at Pepperdine, 2003-2009. In 2009, President Obama named (and the Senate again confirmed) Kmiec to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta.

A White House Fellow and a Distinguished Fulbright Scholar on the Constitution in Asia, Ambassador Kmiec's published works include The Attorney General's Lawyer (1992), Can a Catholic Support Him? (2008), three books on the American Constitution, a two-volume legal treatise, related books, and hundreds of published articles and essays. As head of OLC, he authored the opinion underlying the extension of the U.S. territorial sea from 3 to 12 miles and an opinion that brought AIDS victims within the protection of federal laws. His comparative analysis of EU-U.S. market integration was the subject of a recent seminar for members of the ECJ and U.S. Supreme Court in Brussels.

As the U.S. Ambassador to Malta, Kmiec compassionately addressed the plight of north African irregular migrants, visiting them in detention centers, hosting them in his home, and working to resettle many in the United States.