Glenn A. Fine
Encyclopedia
Glenn Alan Fine served as Inspector General
of the United States Department of Justice
from 2000 until January 2011. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
on December 15, 2000. Prior to his appointment as Inspector General, Fine served as Special Counsel to the Inspector General from January 1995 until 1996, when he was made Director of the OIG's Special Investigations and Review Unit.
Immediately prior to joining the OIG office at the Department of Justice, Fine had been in a private law practice in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in labor and employment law. Before entering private practice, Fine served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Washington, D.C. United States Attorney's Office from 1986 to 1989. In those three years, he prosecuted more than 35 criminal jury trials and handled numerous grand jury investigations.
lawyer at the Justice Department for 28 years.
In September 1993, Fine married Beth Heifetz, a former law clerk to United States Supreme Court
Justice Harry Blackmun
. The wedding was jointly officiated at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC by Justice Blackmun and Rabbi Howard Gorin.
in Wyncote, Pennsylvania
. In 1979, he graduated with an A.B. degree in economics from Harvard College
, magna cum laude. He was co-captain of the Harvard varsity basketball team.
Though only 5'9", he was a 10th-round draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs
, an NBA basketball team, in 1979. Instead, he accepted a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. Fine earned B.A. and M.A. degrees at Oxford.
Fine received his JD
from Harvard Law School
, magna cum laude, in 1985.
in 2000, and can be removed by the President. He has a staff of four hundred criminal investigators, auditors and lawyers. The office is expected to be non-partisan.
As the Inspector General, Fine supervised a staff of more than 400 employees who conducted investigations, audits and special reviews of Department of Justice programs and expenditures. Among some of the most high profile of the these matters were the reviews of the Department of Justice’s handling of intelligence information related to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Department’s treatment of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks, allegations regarding politicized hiring in the Justice Department and the firing of U.S. Attorneys, the FBI’s use of national security letters, and the Department’s preparation to respond to attacks utilizing weapons of mass destruction. Under his supervision, the OIG also conducted many audits of the Department’s operations and practices, as well as investigations of individual allegations of misconduct by Department employees. Mr. Fine also testified more than 40 times before Congressional committees.
For his work, Fine was named the National Law Journal’s Lawyer of the Year in 2008. He also received numerous other honors and recognitions, including Harvard Law School’s Cox, Coleman, and Richardson Award for Distinguished Public Service. He has frequently been profiled in major media outlets.
Shortly after he announced his retirement, the New York Times praised Fine's tenure as Inspector General:
United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General
The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Justice is the Office of the Inspector General specific to the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for conducting nearly all of the investigations of DOJ employees and programs. The present Inspector General is Glenn A...
of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
from 2000 until January 2011. He was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on December 15, 2000. Prior to his appointment as Inspector General, Fine served as Special Counsel to the Inspector General from January 1995 until 1996, when he was made Director of the OIG's Special Investigations and Review Unit.
Immediately prior to joining the OIG office at the Department of Justice, Fine had been in a private law practice in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in labor and employment law. Before entering private practice, Fine served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Washington, D.C. United States Attorney's Office from 1986 to 1989. In those three years, he prosecuted more than 35 criminal jury trials and handled numerous grand jury investigations.
Personal life
Fine's father was an antitrustAntitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
lawyer at the Justice Department for 28 years.
In September 1993, Fine married Beth Heifetz, a former law clerk to United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justice Harry Blackmun
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 until 1994. He is best known as the author of Roe v. Wade.- Early years and professional career :...
. The wedding was jointly officiated at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC by Justice Blackmun and Rabbi Howard Gorin.
Education
Fine attended Cheltenham High SchoolCheltenham High School
Cheltenham High School is a public high school in Wyncote, Pennsylvania serving grades 9 through 12. Cheltenham is the Senior High School in the School District of Cheltenham Township...
in Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Wyncote is a census-designated place in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,044 at the 2010 census...
. In 1979, he graduated with an A.B. degree in economics from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, magna cum laude. He was co-captain of the Harvard varsity basketball team.
Though only 5'9", he was a 10th-round draft pick by the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, an NBA basketball team, in 1979. Instead, he accepted a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. Fine earned B.A. and M.A. degrees at Oxford.
Fine received his JD
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, magna cum laude, in 1985.
Inspector General
Fine was appointed Inspector General of the Department of Justice by President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
in 2000, and can be removed by the President. He has a staff of four hundred criminal investigators, auditors and lawyers. The office is expected to be non-partisan.
As the Inspector General, Fine supervised a staff of more than 400 employees who conducted investigations, audits and special reviews of Department of Justice programs and expenditures. Among some of the most high profile of the these matters were the reviews of the Department of Justice’s handling of intelligence information related to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Department’s treatment of detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks, allegations regarding politicized hiring in the Justice Department and the firing of U.S. Attorneys, the FBI’s use of national security letters, and the Department’s preparation to respond to attacks utilizing weapons of mass destruction. Under his supervision, the OIG also conducted many audits of the Department’s operations and practices, as well as investigations of individual allegations of misconduct by Department employees. Mr. Fine also testified more than 40 times before Congressional committees.
For his work, Fine was named the National Law Journal’s Lawyer of the Year in 2008. He also received numerous other honors and recognitions, including Harvard Law School’s Cox, Coleman, and Richardson Award for Distinguished Public Service. He has frequently been profiled in major media outlets.
Retirement
Fine retired from the Department and resigned as Inspector General in February, 2011. He joined Dechert as a partner in the White Collar & Securities Litigation Practice on September 6, 2011Shortly after he announced his retirement, the New York Times praised Fine's tenure as Inspector General:
- The Department of Justice's inspector general, Glenn Fine, stepped down on Friday after a decade of pushing to clean up and depoliticize a hyperpoliticized department. He will be missed.
- Mr. Fine's best-known efforts came in 2008 when he documented the George W. Bush administration's politically driven firings of four United States attorneys and its politically driven hirings (breaking the civil service law) of scores of civil servants at the Civil Rights Division. Last year, he continued to detail the F.B.I.'s widespread misuse since 2001 of exigent letters"...
- President Obama should appoint a vigilant successor to Mr. Fine, one who will continue to expose the department's shortcomings and their costs.
External links
- "The Constitution's Ombudsman", Summer, 2007, Harvard Law Bulletin. Accessed September 7, 2007.