John McKay (attorney)
Encyclopedia
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Western District of Washington.
John Larkin McKay, a member of a prominent Republican family in the state, attended the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1978. After working as an aide to Congressman Joel Pritchard
Joel Pritchard
Joel McFee Pritchard was a Republican politician from Washington. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Washington....
(R-WA) in 1978-79, McKay earned his law degree at Creighton University
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
in 1982. He was admitted to the Washington State Bar and joined the Seattle law firm of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky
Lane Powell
Lane Powell is a United States law firm based in Seattle, Washington. Established in 1875, Lane Powell employs more than 200 attorneys with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Anchorage, Alaska; Olympia, Washington; Tacoma, Washington; and London, England...
in 1982, eventually becoming a litigation partner with that firm. He then joined Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle, leading its litigation group and serving as a member of its management committee. He was admitted to practice before the United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Career as U.S. Attorney and dismissal
McKay was one of eight U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administrationGeorge W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
in 2006 which were, after the fact, publicly described as being for performance-related issues related to "policy, priorities and management."
Appointment as U.S. Attorney
McKay was appointed United States AttorneyUnited States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in October 2001. He had received a positive evaluation seven months before he was dismissed. Among his noteworthy achievements the successful prosecution of terrorist Ahmed Ressam
Ahmed Ressam
Ahmed Ressam is an Algerian al-Qaeda member who lived in Montreal, Canada.He was convicted of attempting to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999, as part of the foiled 2000 millennium attack plots...
. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey
James B. Comey
James B. Comey, Jr. was United States Deputy Attorney General, serving in President George W. Bush's administration. As Deputy Attorney General, Comey was the second-highest ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and ran the day-to-day operations of the Department, serving in...
gave McKay the additional responsibility of overseeing a pilot program for a computer system (called Law Enforcement Information Exchange, or LInX); for his success he earned the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's highest civilian honor.
McKay was widely considered a likely candidate for elevation to the Federal bench when the seat held by Seattle U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour
John C. Coughenour
John C. Coughenour is a U.S. District Court Judge.He was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981.Before being appointed as a judge, Coughenour was a leading litigator with Bogle & Gates and has taught trial and appellate practice at the University of Washington School of Law.-Education:-Legal...
opened up in 2006. He had been a top litigator, was popular with law enforcement, and a supporter of the Patriot Act
USA PATRIOT Act
The USA PATRIOT Act is an Act of the U.S. Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001...
. Nonetheless, he received no support from the Republicans on the judicial selection commission and soon found himself removed from his job as U.S. Attorney as well.
The Seattle Times noted in February 2007 that "One of the most persistent rumors in Seattle legal circles is that the Justice Department
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...
forced McKay, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, to resign to appease Washington state Republicans angry over the 2004 governor's race
Washington gubernatorial election, 2004
The election for governor of Washington on November 2, 2004 gained national attention for its legal twists and extremely close finish. Notable for being among the closest political races in United States election history, Republican Dino Rossi was declared the winner in the initial automated count...
. Some believe McKay's dismissal was retribution for his failure to convene a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the race."
On March 17, 2007, the Seattle Times reported,
"Former Republican congressman Rick White
Rick White (politician)
Richard Alan White is an American politician, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He represented of Washington as a Republican, earning close ties with the Christian Coalition....
, one of three candidates the Republicans have submitted to replace John McKay as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, cannot practice law in the state. White's license was suspended by the state Supreme Court in August 2003 for failure to pay his bar dues. He was reinstated to the bar in 2005 after paying a small fee, but currently holds an 'inactive' status", which is common for attorneys that are not actively practicing law.
In congressional testimony, Kyle Sampson
Kyle Sampson
D. Kyle Sampson was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys in 2006 and was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in July 2010...
, chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
, testified that McKay may have been fired at least in part because of his advocacy for a more-aggressive investigation into the murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Wales
Thomas C. Wales
Thomas Crane Wales was an American federal prosecutor and gun control advocate from Seattle, Washington, who was the victim of an unsolved murder.- Life and work :...
of Seattle. His pursuit of the case and subsequent firing were the subjects of an article by Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Toobin
Jeffrey Ross Toobin is an American lawyer, author, and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.-Early life and education:...
in the August 6, 2007 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Toobin noted that Gonzales assured Wales's family that the investigation was still a top priority of the Justice Department.
Post-U.S. Attorney career
On May 21, 2007, Getty ImagesGetty Images
Getty Images, Inc. is a stock photo agency, based in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is a supplier of stock images for business and consumers with an archive of 80 million still images and illustrations and more than 50,000 hours of stock film footage...
announced that McKay would join the corporation as senior vice president and general counsel, based in their headquarters in Seattle.
On September 17, 2007, Jonathan Klein, CEO of Getty Images, announced that John McKay would be stepping down as general counsel to return to the law faculty at Seattle University where he will teach full-time.
McKay is currently a full-time professor of law at Seattle University School of Law.
During his career as a U.S. Attorney, McKay was the prosecutor in the trial of Marc Emery
Marc Emery
Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate, as well as a former cannabis seed seller. He is currently serving a five year sentence in a United States federal prison for selling cannabis seeds....
for marijuana distribution. Since that time, McKay has called for reform of marijuana laws such that its sale be legally regulated and taxed.