Thomas Rex Lee
Encyclopedia
Thomas Rex Lee is a justice of the Utah
Supreme Court
, confirmed on July 19, 2010. He is the son of Rex E. Lee
.
, Utah and Northern Virginia
. His undergraduate studies took place at Brigham Young University (BYU), graduating
summa cum laude in 1988 with a bachelors degree in economics
. Lee pursued a law degree at the University of Chicago
, graduating with high honors in 1991.
After receiving his law degree, Lee began a one-year term as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson, III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1991–92). He joined the firm of Kimball, Parr, Waddoups, Brown & Gee as an associate in 1992, after clerking for Judge Wilkinson. Lee accepted a one-year term as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1994–95). He became a shareholder at Kimball, Parr, Waddoups, Brown & Gee in 1995, a position he would hold until 1997 when he left the firm to join the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. At the law school, Lee taught Civil Procedure and Intellectual Property Law. He also served as Associate Dean and was named the Rex and Maureen Rawlinson Professor of Law. He still remains a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at BYU. While at the law school, Lee worked in an "of counsel" capacity at Howard, Phillips, & Andersen, representing the firm in numerous cases involving intellectual property matters. During the years of 2001 to 2004, Lee served as lead counsel for the State of Utah in a number of cases. In 2004-05, Lee took a leave from the law school to serve as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, US Department of Justice.
A series of suits filed against then President George W. Bush and the United States military regarding detainees held at the United States penitentiary facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The plaintiffs argued that in addition to being denied due process, prisoners ought to be subject to the laws under the Constitution, not military tribunals. Lee presented oral arguments on behalf of the United States. The majority of the rulings considered by the United States Supreme Court resulted in rulings that detainees should be able to file their complaints in civil courts.
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians v. Leavitt, 376 F. 3d 1223 (10th Cir. 2004)
Case involving the transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel on land leased to the State of Utah by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. As part of the appeal, Lee served as lead counsel for the State of Utah. The resulting opinion of the appellate court was to affirm the district court's ruling that it was the authority of the federal, not state, government that decided issues regarding the transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Bullcreek v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 359 F. 3d 536 (D.C. Cir. 2004)
Case of appeal involving the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in licensing the private storage of spent nuclear fuel. Lee argued on behalf of the petitioners who claimed that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, 42 U.S.C. §§ 10101, repealed the authority of the NRC to grant licenses to store private nuclear spent fuel in facilities away from reactor storage facilities. The circuit court upheld that the NRC's interpretation of the act was more consistent, and therefore denied the motions of the petitioners for lack of standing.
Utah v. Evans, 536 U.S. 452 (2002)
Case regarding the "hot-deck imputation" technique utilized by the US Census Bureau during the 2000 Census. The technique came under fire when it was shown to have earned North Carolina one additional representative, yet cost Utah one representative. Representing the State of Utah, Lee argued the case before the Supreme Court. The opinion of the court upheld the previous ruling that the use of "hot-deck imputation" did not violate statute nor constitution.
As a private attorney, Lee was a recognized expert in trademark law and litigated numerous trademark infringement cases, including the following:
, is a U.S. Senator also in Utah.
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
, confirmed on July 19, 2010. He is the son of Rex E. Lee
Rex E. Lee
Rex Edwin Lee from St. Johns, Arizona was a Constitutional lawyer, a law clerk for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White, and the United States Solicitor General under the Reagan administration. He argued 59 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court...
.
Early life, education, and career
Thomas Rex Lee was born in 1964 to parents Rex and Janet Lee. He grew up in ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Utah and Northern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. His undergraduate studies took place at Brigham Young University (BYU), graduating
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
summa cum laude in 1988 with a bachelors degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Lee pursued a law degree at the University of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, graduating with high honors in 1991.
After receiving his law degree, Lee began a one-year term as a law clerk for the Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson, III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1991–92). He joined the firm of Kimball, Parr, Waddoups, Brown & Gee as an associate in 1992, after clerking for Judge Wilkinson. Lee accepted a one-year term as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1994–95). He became a shareholder at Kimball, Parr, Waddoups, Brown & Gee in 1995, a position he would hold until 1997 when he left the firm to join the faculty of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. At the law school, Lee taught Civil Procedure and Intellectual Property Law. He also served as Associate Dean and was named the Rex and Maureen Rawlinson Professor of Law. He still remains a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at BYU. While at the law school, Lee worked in an "of counsel" capacity at Howard, Phillips, & Andersen, representing the firm in numerous cases involving intellectual property matters. During the years of 2001 to 2004, Lee served as lead counsel for the State of Utah in a number of cases. In 2004-05, Lee took a leave from the law school to serve as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, US Department of Justice.
Cases prior to appointment
Guantanamo Bay Detainee cases (D. D.C.):A series of suits filed against then President George W. Bush and the United States military regarding detainees held at the United States penitentiary facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The plaintiffs argued that in addition to being denied due process, prisoners ought to be subject to the laws under the Constitution, not military tribunals. Lee presented oral arguments on behalf of the United States. The majority of the rulings considered by the United States Supreme Court resulted in rulings that detainees should be able to file their complaints in civil courts.
Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians v. Leavitt, 376 F. 3d 1223 (10th Cir. 2004)
Case involving the transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel on land leased to the State of Utah by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. As part of the appeal, Lee served as lead counsel for the State of Utah. The resulting opinion of the appellate court was to affirm the district court's ruling that it was the authority of the federal, not state, government that decided issues regarding the transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel.
Bullcreek v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 359 F. 3d 536 (D.C. Cir. 2004)
Case of appeal involving the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in licensing the private storage of spent nuclear fuel. Lee argued on behalf of the petitioners who claimed that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, 42 U.S.C. §§ 10101, repealed the authority of the NRC to grant licenses to store private nuclear spent fuel in facilities away from reactor storage facilities. The circuit court upheld that the NRC's interpretation of the act was more consistent, and therefore denied the motions of the petitioners for lack of standing.
Utah v. Evans, 536 U.S. 452 (2002)
Case regarding the "hot-deck imputation" technique utilized by the US Census Bureau during the 2000 Census. The technique came under fire when it was shown to have earned North Carolina one additional representative, yet cost Utah one representative. Representing the State of Utah, Lee argued the case before the Supreme Court. The opinion of the court upheld the previous ruling that the use of "hot-deck imputation" did not violate statute nor constitution.
As a private attorney, Lee was a recognized expert in trademark law and litigated numerous trademark infringement cases, including the following:
| Case | Topic |
|---|---|
| General Motors v. Urban Gorilla LLC (10th Cir. 2007) | Trade dress infringement action against manufacturer of body kit incorporating variation of HUMMER H1 body design |
| General Motors v. Phat Cat Carts, Inc. (S.D. Fla. 2006) | Trademark and trade dress infringement action against golf cart manufacturer |
| Keystone v. Ford Motor Co. (C.D. Cal. 2005) | Trademark infringement action between automobile manufacture and automobile parts distributor |
| Volkswagen v. Dorling Kindersley Publishing (E.D. Mich. 2005) | Trademark infringement action against publisher of children’s book shaped like VW BEETLE |
| General Motors v. Chevy Duty, Inc. (E.D. Mich. 2005) | Trademark infringement action against auto parts distributor |
| Au-tomotive Gold v. Volkswagen of America (9th Cir. 2004) | Trademark infringement action against manufacturer of license plate frames and key chains incorporating Volkswagen and Audi trademarks |
| General Motors v. Avanti Motor (E.D. Mich. 2003) | Trade dress infringement action against concept vehicle incorporating the look and feel of the Hummer H2 |
| Porsche Cars v. Porsch.com (4th Cir. 2002) | In rem trademark cyberpiracy action concerning hundreds of domain names incorporating variations on Porsche’s trademarks |
| Ford v. Lloyd (6th Cir. 2002) | Trademark infringement action against manufacturer of floor mats bearing counterfeits of Ford’s trademarks |
| Virtual Works v. Volkswagen (4th Cir. 2000) | Trademark cyberpiracy action concerning VW.NET |
| Ford v. 2600 Enterprises (E.D. Mich. 2002) | Trademark cyberpiracy action |
| Ford v. Czech (N.D. Ohio 2000) | Trademark cyberpiracy action concerning FORD-QUALITY.COM and other domain names |
| Ford v. GreatDomains.com (E.D. Mich. 2001) | Trademark cyberpiracy action concerning numerous domain names incorporating variations on Ford’s trademarks |
| Porsche Cars v. Manny’s Porshop, 972 F. Supp. 1128 (N.D. Ill. 1997) | Trademark infringement and dilution action |
| Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501 (1999) | Case regarding the practice of holding of domain names for the purpose of financial gain |
Nomination and confirmation
On Friday, May 28, 2010, Utah Governor Gary Herbert nominated Lee to fill the vacancy in the Utah Supreme Court left by retired Justice Michael J. Wilkins. Receiving a unanimous vote (5-0) from the Utah Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee, Lee was confirmed by the full Senate on Wednesday, June 23, 2010. Lee was sworn into office on Monday, July 19, 2010, accepting the oath administered by his mentor, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.Works
| Title | Publication |
|---|---|
| Trademarks, Consumer Psychology, and the Sophisticated Consumer | Emory Law Journal, Vol. 57, pp. 575-650, 2008 |
| Demystifying Dilution | Boston University Law Review, Vol. 84, pp. 859-944, 2004 |
| The Original Understanding of the Census Clause: Statistical Estimates and the Constitutional Requirement of an 'Actual Enumeration' | Washington Law Review, Vol. 77, pp. 1-64, 2002 |
| Preliminary Injunctions and the Status Quo | Washington & Lee Law Review, Vol. 58, pp. 109-166, 2001 |
| The Anastasoff Case and the Judicial Power to "Unpublish" Opinions | Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 77, pp. 135-173, 2001 |
| In Rem Jurisdiction in Cyberspace | 75 Wash. L. Rev 97 (2000) |
| Stare Decisis in Historical Perspective: From the Founding Era to the Rehnquist Court | Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol. 52, pp. 647-735, 1999 |
| Pleading and Proof: The Economics of Legal Burdens | Brigham Young University Law Review, Vol. 1997, pp. 1-34, 1997 |
| Comment: The Standing of Qui Tam Relators Under the False Claims Act | University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 57, pp. 543-571, 1990 |
Personal Information
Lee and wife Kimberley have six children. His brother, Michael S. LeeMichael S. Lee
Michael Shumway "Mike" Lee is the junior United States Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. He is supported by the Tea Party movement....
, is a U.S. Senator also in Utah.