Judicial Nominees Have Left Telecom, Internet Footprints
President Bush renominated several people to federal judgeships last week, including some with ties to the telecom and Internet industries, or cases involving them. Each of the nominations had been held up by the Senate but was resubmitted by the Administration in anticipation of a stronger majority in the 109th Congress.
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Paul Crotty, renominated to a U.S. Dist. Court, N.Y.C., judgeship, is a longtime Verizon executive. Among his Verizon positions were group pres.-Verizon N.Y. and Verizon N.Y. pres.- public policy. After the 9/11 attacks, Crotty said the tragedies demonstrated the value of disaster planning and voluntary cooperation among telecom carriers and local public safety and security agencies (CD Nov 15/01 p3). Before joining Verizon, he was N.Y.C. corporation counsel.
U.S. Dist. Judge Terrence Boyle, Raleigh, N.C., renominated to a seat on the 4th U.S. Appeals Court, Richmond, sat on the 4th Circuit Appeals Court panel that unanimously said AOL isn’t responsible for anonymous postings that resulted in dozens of harassing phone calls to a Seattle businessman (CD Nov 17/97 p2). The opinion said the Telecom Act expressed clear intent that online service companies not be liable for “material posted by third parties on their system.”
Others with industry footprints include: (1) Richard Griffin, renominated to a seat on the 6th Circuit U.S. Appeals Court, voted with the majority in a 2000 case that two different divisions of the state Attorney Gen.’s office can’t represent opposite sides in a Mich PSC case. (2) Thomas Griffith, renominated to a U.S. Dist. Judge, D.C., seat, is an ex-partner at communications law firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding, before leaving to become gen. counsel of Brigham Young U. in 2000.