.........................................................................
- ........................................................................................................................................
William “Bill” Holcombe Pryor
Former Alabama Attorney General and a Federal Judge on the United
States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
William Pryor was a ferociously partisan figure and one of the
most controversial judicial nominees in recent memory; he
previously served as Alabama’s attorney general. [1]
Born in Mobile, Alabama he was raised a devout Roman
Catholic. He attended McGill -Toolen Catholic High School in
Mobile and earned his B.A. from Northeast Louisiana University
in 1984 and his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law in
1987, where he served as editor in chief of the Tulane Law
Review. Pryor served as a law clerk to Judge John Minor
Wisdom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit from 1987 to 1988. Pryor worked as a private attorney
from 1988-95, serving as adjunct professor at the Cumberland
School of Law at Samford University from 1989-95. Pryor
currently teaches federal jurisdiction at the University of
Alabama School of Law.
- From 1995-97, he served as Alabama deputy attorney general
and became Alabama attorney general in 1997. He was, at that
time, the youngest state attorney general in the United States.
Pryor was elected in 1998 and reelected in 2002. In his
reelection, Pryor garnered nearly 59 percent of the votes, the
highest percentage of any statewide candidate.[3]
In 2007 Time Magazine Investigations revealed previously
unknown sworn testimony that landfill developer Lanny Young
admitted to making donations totaling between $12,000 and
$15,000 to Pryor's campaign for state attorney general. This
was illegal at the time, so Young named four people who "all
wrote checks to Pryor's campaign and were reimbursed by
Young for their contributions." Lanny confessed that If I was
there, "I would write them out or just sign them, and they would
fill in who it was to or whatever." According to Young, a top
official on Pryor's campaign "would call and say, 'I need money
for this, this or this,'" and Young would take care of the request.
("I do not have a recollection of the amounts that you describe
as having been contributed by Lanny Young or his associates to
my campaign," Pryor wrote in an e-mail to TIME.)
Among the illegal actions alleged in the Siegelman indictment
that Bill Pryor initiated was Siegelman's acceptance from Young
of thousands of dollars' worth of free T shirts and hundreds of
specially embossed coffee mugs to give away as Christmas
presents. The freebies were popular, said Young. "I had got
them coffee cups and stuff before and shirts, and I had the
same thing for Bill [Pryor]." Young estimated the value of the
mugs at $13,000 to $15,00. [4]
Despite his own blatant violations of contribution law, Pryor used
his position to initiate a criminal investigation of Siegelman within
weeks of Siegelman’s inauguration as governor. During this time
Leura Canary worked for Pryor ('99 -'01). Throughout the
history of the Siegelman investigation and prosecution, Pryor
figures right at the center of it ultimately, after concluding that
there was an insufficient basis under Alabama law to act,
lobbying the Justice Department to bring a case. Throughout
this period, Pryor consulted with and involved senior Alabama
GOP figures in the matter. Pryor is also a friend and confidant of
Karl Rove, whom he hired to manage his election campaign, and
who played a key role in his ascendancy to the federal bench. [1]
Pryor, who was notoriously eager to get a position on the federal
bench and whose nomination proved the most controversial
single judicial appointment ever made by George W. Bush, had
another key political advisor to whom he turned for support: Karl
Rove. [2] Pryor was nominated to the Eleventh Circuit by
President George W. Bush on April 9, 2003 to fill a seat vacated
by Judge Emmett Ripley Cox, who assumed Senior status. After
his nomination stalled in the Senate due to Democratic
opposition, he was installed as judge via recess appointment on
February 20, 2004 during the Congress's recess period,
bypassing the U.S. Senate confirmation process. Pryor resigned
as attorney general that same day and took his judicial oath for
a term lasting until the end of 2006 when the next Congressional
session would begin.[3]
- Many Democrats criticized him for his extreme right-wing views
and reputation as a conservative who lacked the temperament
to avoid being an "activist" judge. Pryor's nomination was
prevented from being put to a vote in the U.S. Senate by
Democrats who had filibustered his nomination.
On May 23, 2005 Senator John McCain announced an
agreement between seven Republican and seven Democratic U.
S. Senators, the Gang of 14, to ensure an up-or-down vote on
Pryor and several other stalled Bush nominees, including
Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown. On June 9, 2005, he
was confirmed to the Eleventh Circuit by a vote of (53-45). He
received his commission on June 10, 2005 and on June 20,
2005, he was sworn in to his new lifetime judicial position at the
age of 43.
In his political campaigns, Pryor spoke ceaselessly about the
“corruption” of the Democratic administration in Alabama, and
made no bones about his desire to maneuver prosecutorial
resources to accomplish a political mission. And working at his
side on this project, as an assistant, was Leura Canary–until
President Bush picked her to be the U.S. Attorney in
Montgomery.
- And William Pryor’s other main political advisor throughout this
period was Leura’s husband, Bill Canary.[2]
[1] Harper's 7/13/07
[2] Harper's 9/14/07
[3] Wikipedia
[4] TIME/CNN 10/4/07
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| __________________________________________________________________________________________ Sponsored by Friends of Don Siegelman 2007 <feedback> __________________________________________________________________________________________ |
ATTORNEYS
BILL PRYOR
BILL PRYOR
.........................................................................
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Bill Pryor |
| photo: Al gov Former Alabama Attorney General who worked with Karl Rove to attain both his Attorney General Position and his Federal Judgeship. |