J. Michael Luttig

Born in Tyler, Texas, Luttig received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University in 1976. He then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1981.

Luttig served briefly in the Reagan administration, where his duties included reviewing potential judicial appointments and vetting them for ideological consistency with the administration's policies. From 1982 to 1984, he clerked for then-Judge Antonin Scalia of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, one of the potential judges he had vetted in his prior job, and for Chief Justice Warren Burger.[1] Luttig later served as co-executor of Burger's one-page will, which gained notoriety for Burger's failure to dictate how estate taxes should be paid.[2][3] Luttig continued to work for Burger as a special assistant until 1985, when he entered private practice at the Washington office of Davis Polk & Wardwell.

In 1989, Luttig returned to government service, holding various positions within the United States Department of Justice until 1991 under George H. W. Bush, including as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel.[1][4] His duties in the Justice Department included assisting Supreme Court nominees David Souter and Clarence Thomas with their Senate confirmation proceedings. His assistance of Thomas proved somewhat controversial because he assisted Thomas in his highly contested Senate confirmation process after Luttig's own appointment to the federal bench had been approved by the Senate, but before Luttig took the judicial oath of office.[4][5][6][7]

On April 23, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Luttig to fill a newly created seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1991 and receiving his commission on August 2, 1991, he became the youngest judge (at age 37) on a federal appeals court at the time of his appointment.[7]

On the bench, Luttig was compared to Justice Scalia for his analytical rigor and for criticizing his colleagues for inconsistencies or embellishments in their judicial opinions and right-wing extremism.[8] He was also similar to Scalia in that his judicial philosophy sometimes led to what were seen as anti-conservative opinions.[1][7]

Luttig was mentioned frequently as being near the top of George W. Bush's list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States despite opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a dispute between Luttig and the Bush administration over the handling of the case of alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla (see below).[9][10] Bush interviewed but ultimately did not choose Luttig to fill two Supreme Court vacancies in 2005.

Luttig was the leading feeder judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, with virtually all of his law clerks having gone on to clerk with conservative justices on the Supreme Court,[11] a total of 40, 33 of whom clerked for either Justice Thomas or Justice Scalia.[12] Luttig's clerks have nicknamed themselves "Luttigators".

Luttig's father, John Luttig, was fatally shot in 1994 in a carjacking by Napoleon Beazley, who, at the time of the crime, was a seventeen-year-old minor.[13] Luttig testified in the sentencing portion of the trial, providing testimony supporting imposition of the death penalty.[13] Beazley was convicted, condemned to death, and eventually executed after twice appealing to the Supreme Court,[14][15] where Justices Antonin Scalia, David Souter, and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because of past associations with Luttig. Scalia recused himself because Luttig had clerked for him, and Justices David Souter and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because Luttig led the George H. W. Bush Administration's efforts to gain the Senate's confirmation for them.[16]

In May 2006, Luttig resigned to become general counsel and senior vice president for The Boeing Company.[21][22] He replaced Douglas Bain.[23] In his resignation letter, Luttig wrote, "Boeing may well be the only company in America for which I would have ever considered leaving the court."[24] He also mentioned his two children's upcoming college education; the position at Boeing promised more pay than the federal judgeship. At the time of his resignation, federal appellate judges were paid $175,100 annually.[25] According to Boeing's 2008 Annual Report, Luttig's total compensation for 2008 was $2,798,962.[26] Luttig resigned as general counsel in May 2019.[27] He was replaced by Brett Gerry.[28]

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
• George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates

• FJC Bio
• US News profile
• Luttig's resignation letter