Hundreds of Law Professors from Across the Country Call for Dawn Johnsen's Confirmation to Head the Office of Legal Counsel

Washington, DC, March 4, 2010—On March 4, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee, for the second time, favorably reported the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to be Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the Department of Justice, with a twelve to seven vote.

More than 415 law professors from across the nation signed on to a letter urging the U.S. Senate to vote to confirm Dawn Johnsen.  The letter was sent to Capitol Hill this week by the Alliance for Justice. 

"The Office of Legal Counsel, often referred to as the Constitutional conscience of the administration, requires a high caliber of leadership," said Professor Carol Steiker of Harvard Law School.  "The eminent scholar and practitioner Dawn Johnsen fits the bill."

Professor Johnsen spent five years in leadership roles at the OLC during the Clinton administration—one and a half of those years as head of the office.  The letter points out that Professor Johnsen has bi-partisan support, having been endorsed by officials from the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. 

"This letter shows the depth of support for Dawn Johnsen's nomination," said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, said.  "Republicans in the Senate must stop playing politics and confirm this exemplary nominee."

Professor Johnsen was re-nominated on January 20, 2010 after her nomination was returned by the Senate before the congressional recess on Christmas Eve.  Her original nomination had been pending on the Senate's Executive Calendar since it was favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 19, 2009. 

» Read the letter from law professors from across the country on the Dawn Johnsen nomination