Benjamin Civiletti
Benjamin Richard Civiletti ( born July 17, 1935 in Peekskill, New York) is an American lawyer, Democratic politician and former Minister of Justice ( Attorney General ).
Study and career
Civiletti studied psychology at Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (AB). Then he studied law at the University of Maryland, which he finished in 1961 with a Bachelor of Laws ( LL.B. ). In the same year he obtained there the degree of Juris Doctor (JD).
After the end of his studies, he was admitted to the bar in Maryland and was at least one year assistant to a judge in a district court. Between September 1962 and October 1964, he was assistant to the U.S. District Attorney of Maryland.
From 1964 to 1968, he then worked as a lawyer at the law firm Venable LLP in Baltimore and Washington, in 1969 he rose to become partner. 1965, also was admitted to the prosecutor at the United States Supreme Court in 1971, he became head of the litigation department of the firm. Ten years later he was appointed senior partner of the law firm Venable, Baetjer and Howard, and the inclusion of his name as the fourth name in the firm name.
As a specialist in commercial law, he was in 2005 the first U.S. lawyer at an hourly fee of $ 1,000.
Ascent to the Minister of Justice under President Carter
After the election of Jimmy Carter as U.S. president called him this on March 10, 1977 Assistant Minister of Justice and Head of the Criminal Investigation Department. On May 16, 1978 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice was ( Deputy Attorney General ) as the successor of Peter F. Flaherty, who ran for Governor in Pennsylvania. This office he held until his appointment as Minister of Justice ( Attorney General ) as the successor of Griffin B. Bell on August 16, 1979.
His appointment was part of a larger reshuffle, in which also change in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and in the health, education and welfare ministry took place, which was divided into two separate ministries.
As Minister of Justice he represented the U.S. government in several important processes. Civiletti was particularly representative before the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) in The Hague during the hostage taking of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in Iran. However, the release of the hostages was carried out only on the day of the inauguration of Carter's successor as president, Ronald Reagan, on 20 January 1981. Moreover, he was a representative in the Supreme Court in cases of denial of citizenship for Nazi war criminals.
In the years 1980 and 1981, he presented two legal opinions on a strict interpretation of the Antideficiency Act that characterizes the practice of the government shutdown until today.
The Office of the Minister of Justice he held until the end of Carter's presidency on January 19, 1981.