Tom Strickland
Encyclopedia
Tom Strickland is an American
lawyer who works as chief of staff to Interior Secretary
Ken Salazar
and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Interior Department
. Strickland served as United States Attorney
for Colorado
and was the Democratic
nominee for U.S. Senate
for Colorado in 1996 and 2002.
but attended Louisiana State University
. In 1977 he graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.
Assuming office the day after the Columbine High School massacre
, Strickland's legacy as U.S. Attorney is his tough stance on gun crime. Shortly after taking office, Strickland led efforts to enact Colorado's Project Exile
, under which Federal and local prosecutors would cooperate to bring gun charges under state or federal laws, whichever would offer the toughest sentence. During its first year, Colorado Project Exile doubled the number of people who were charged with violating state and federal gun laws in Colorado. Under Strickland's leadership, the project launched with support from gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association
and gun control
groups such as Handgun Control, Inc.
distribution ring outside of Colorado Springs, Colo., the indictment
of 42 people associated with a motorcycle gang, and the indictment of representatives from three drug running organizations in one of the largest drug roundups in the state's history. In 2000, he prosecuted of the largest drug bust in Longmont's history, an investigation that grew to include California
and Nebraska
and involved the Internal Revenue Service
, the U.S. Attorney's office
, the Federal Housing Authority and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
.
Strickland also levied 37 felony counts of selling large quantities of guns to criminals against Gregory Golyansky, his brother Leonid and their employee and cousin, Dmitry Baravik, in a politically-charged trial that ended in a plea bargain with a sentence of just one day of probation and a lifetime ban on selling firearms. While critics charged that Strickland targeted the Golyanskys because of their Republican leanings, John Suthers
, Strickland's replacement and a Republican, reviewed the case and decided to continue prosecuting despite alleged problems with the case. As Suthers explained, "You've got to rely on hard-core criminals as witnesses. The girlfriends of hard-core criminals are not exactly spectacular witnesses either." In addition, Strickland went after human traffickers as demonstrated by his commitment to prosecuting three people in charges of transporting illegal immigrants after a van crash in northeast Colorado that killed six men. The victims were packed into a van with 14 other passengers who also sustained injuries when a tractor trailer ran into the back of the van.
After almost two years on the job, Strickland left office after acquiring "a reputation as a tough, effective law-and-order prosecutor," according to an editorial appearing in the Denver Post just prior to the end of Strickland's tenure as U.S. Attorney. Strickland joined the Hogan & Hartson law firm, serving as Managing Partner for the firm's Colorado offices. He was also a member of Hogan & Hartson's executive committee. On April 24, 2007, he was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group
, a diversified health and well-being company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and serving more than 70 million individuals nationwide.
On January 21, 2009, it was announced that Strickland had accepted an appointment to serve in President Barack Obama
's administration as the chief of staff in the Department of the Interior.
for Colorado
in both 1996 and 2002, but was unsuccessful, losing to Republican Wayne Allard
both times, by a margin of around 5 percent in each election.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer who works as chief of staff to Interior Secretary
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Ken Salazar
Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez were the first Hispanic U.S...
and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Interior Department
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
. Strickland served as United States Attorney
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 Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and was the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nominee for U.S. 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...
for Colorado in 1996 and 2002.
Early life and career
Tom Strickland was born in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
but attended Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. In 1977 he graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.
Assuming office the day after the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
, Strickland's legacy as U.S. Attorney is his tough stance on gun crime. Shortly after taking office, Strickland led efforts to enact Colorado's Project Exile
Project Exile
Project Exile was a federal program started in Richmond, Virginia in 1997. Project Exile shifted the prosecution of illegal technical gun possession offenses to federal court, where they carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison under the federal Gun Control Act of 1968,...
, under which Federal and local prosecutors would cooperate to bring gun charges under state or federal laws, whichever would offer the toughest sentence. During its first year, Colorado Project Exile doubled the number of people who were charged with violating state and federal gun laws in Colorado. Under Strickland's leadership, the project launched with support from gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
and gun control
Gun control
Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
groups such as Handgun Control, Inc.
Law career
Strickland's most notable cases include the prosecution of 25 people associated with a major cocaineCocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
distribution ring outside of Colorado Springs, Colo., the indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
of 42 people associated with a motorcycle gang, and the indictment of representatives from three drug running organizations in one of the largest drug roundups in the state's history. In 2000, he prosecuted of the largest drug bust in Longmont's history, an investigation that grew to include California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and involved the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, the U.S. Attorney's office
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...
, the Federal Housing Authority and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
.
Strickland also levied 37 felony counts of selling large quantities of guns to criminals against Gregory Golyansky, his brother Leonid and their employee and cousin, Dmitry Baravik, in a politically-charged trial that ended in a plea bargain with a sentence of just one day of probation and a lifetime ban on selling firearms. While critics charged that Strickland targeted the Golyanskys because of their Republican leanings, John Suthers
John Suthers
John William Suthers is the current Attorney General of Colorado. He is a practicing Catholic and member of the Republican Party.-Background:Suthers was born in Denver, Colorado and adopted a month later by a Colorado Springs couple....
, Strickland's replacement and a Republican, reviewed the case and decided to continue prosecuting despite alleged problems with the case. As Suthers explained, "You've got to rely on hard-core criminals as witnesses. The girlfriends of hard-core criminals are not exactly spectacular witnesses either." In addition, Strickland went after human traffickers as demonstrated by his commitment to prosecuting three people in charges of transporting illegal immigrants after a van crash in northeast Colorado that killed six men. The victims were packed into a van with 14 other passengers who also sustained injuries when a tractor trailer ran into the back of the van.
After almost two years on the job, Strickland left office after acquiring "a reputation as a tough, effective law-and-order prosecutor," according to an editorial appearing in the Denver Post just prior to the end of Strickland's tenure as U.S. Attorney. Strickland joined the Hogan & Hartson law firm, serving as Managing Partner for the firm's Colorado offices. He was also a member of Hogan & Hartson's executive committee. On April 24, 2007, he was appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer of UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health and "well-being" company. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group offers a spectrum of products and services through two operating businesses: United Healthcare and Optum. Through its family of subsidiaries and divisions,...
, a diversified health and well-being company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and serving more than 70 million individuals nationwide.
On January 21, 2009, it was announced that Strickland had accepted an appointment to serve in President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's administration as the chief of staff in the Department of the Interior.
U.S. Senate campaign
Strickland was the Democratic nominee for the United States SenateUnited 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...
for Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in both 1996 and 2002, but was unsuccessful, losing to Republican Wayne Allard
Wayne Allard
Alan Wayne Allard is a member of the Republican Party, and was a United States Senator from Colorado. He did not seek re-election in 2008.-Early life:...
both times, by a margin of around 5 percent in each election.