Jeffrey Sutton

• Former law clerk for Antonin Scalia, one of the Supreme Court's most vocal opponents of women’s abortion rights.

• Officer of the Separation of Powers practice group for the Federalist Society, an ultra-conservative legal organization.

• Represented Alabama in Board of Trustees of Alabama v. Garett, which successfully challenged the constitutionality of applying the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to states.* Sutton argued that the protections of the ADA were "not needed" to remedy discrimination by states against people with disabilities. This decision prevents persons with disabilities from collecting monetary damages from state employers. Most significantly, it has resulted in fewer attorneys being willing to represent individuals in ADA cases against state employers.

• Filed a brief representing the state of Georgia before the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C. arguing that unnecessarily keeping people with disabilities in institutions was not discrimination. The Supreme Court reversed.

• Argued to the Supreme Court in Alexander v. Sandoval that Congress could not constitutionally authorize individuals to sue states to enforce their rights under Title VI, which protects persons from discrimination based on their race, color or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

• The arguments Sutton has used in civil rights cases "are the same arguments used by opponents of gay civil rights laws," according to Georgetown University law professor Chai Feldblum.

• Sutton has no record on reproductive rights. "This absence is worrisome, particularly in light of Sutton's affiliation with Justice Scalia, one of the Supreme Court's most vociferous opponents of reproductive rights." **

• Successfully argued in United States v. Morrison that the provision in the Violence against Women Act of 1994 that allowed women to sue their attackers in federal court was unconstitutional.***

• Argued that states should not be covered by the Age Discrimination Act., Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 528 US 62 (2000).

Sources:
* "What Would Papa Bush Think of This Nominee?" Tish Durkin, National Journal, 5/11/01
** NARAL, 5/01
*** Who's Who Among the Bush Judicial Nominees, American Lawyer Media, 5/14/01

last updated 4/29/03