Who Is Alaska AG Talis Colberg?

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that the legal community in Alaska was shocked when Gov. Sarah Palin appointed Talis Colberg as attorney general soon after she won election in 2006.
As the article states: "Mr. Colberg ... moved from a one-room building in the valley to one of the most powerful offices in the state, supervising some 500 people."
So what else can we learn about Attorney General Colberg?
According to his official state biography, Colberg obtained his law degree at Pepperdine University but has otherwise spent his entire life in Alaska.
Although he was a solo practitioner from 1992 up until Palin's election, he appears to have been active in other areas.
In addition to serving on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly, he also taught history at Matanuska-Susitna College.
He recently completed a Ph.D in northern Political history & culture at the University of Alaska.
Prior to going solo, Colberg was a staff counsel for Travelers Insurance.
His high velocity rise to prominence could continue if his boss becomes vice-president.
As others have reported, Colberg could end up taking Palin's spot as governor if current Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell wins election to the House of Representatives.

Leahy Moves To Re-Up Supreme Court Police Powers

The Senate Judiciary Committee moved today to re-authorize the power of the Supreme Court police to protect justices and other court officials when they are outside the court’s grounds.
The authority expires at the end of the year if Congress doesn’t act.
“If Congress fails to pass this legislation before it adjourns, the lives of the Supreme Court justices could be threatened,” committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. (pictured), said in a statement. “This is a bill that should pass by unanimous consent.”
The bill would extend the police's authority for another five years.

Leahy Grills SG Nominee over Ledbetter

The man who will argue the Bush administration’s position before the Supreme Court this fall had the equally daunting task Tuesday of facing Senate Democrats.
In June, President Bush nominated Gregory G. Garre (pictured) to replace Paul Clement as solicitor general for the remainder of his term.
Whether or not the Senate Judiciary Committee and full Senate will go ahead and vote on his confirmation is unknown, but Tuesday’s confirmation hearing was a necessary first step.
Furthermore, Garre will continue in his acting capacity even if he isn’t confirmed.
Tuesday’s hearing provided an opportunity for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee chairman, to press Garre on one of the Democrats’ favorite issues in recent months: the Supreme Court’s decision to side with the employer in a prominent 2007 equal pay case. Ledbetter v. Goodyear.
The plaintiff, Lilly Ledbetter, even spoke at the Democratic convention in Denver last month.
The court held in the 5-4 ruling, that woman and minorities cannot sue their employers for long-ago discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Ledbetter won a jury trial against the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. after she found out that she was paid 20 percent less than the lowest paid of her male colleagues.
But the conservative bloc of the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, ruled that Ledbetter had no grounds to sue because she had filed her claim years after the 180-day statute of limitations had expired.
On this occasion, Leahy chose to take issue with the fact that the Bush administration sided with the employer when it sought to intervene in the case.
This was despite the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had traditionally sided with the employee in such suits.
"I still don't understand why it was so necessary to weigh in on behalf of the employer," Leahy said.
In response, Garre stressed that the government had not "condoned discriminatory practices" by participating in the case.
Rather, the administration was focused on the narrow issue of when the statute of limitations for making such claims is triggered, he added.
Leahy then noted that there was no reason why the solicitor general even had to intervene in the case.
"That is always an option," Garre conceded.

Video: Obama and McCain Camps Spar Over IP Issues

At the Democratic convention last week, lawyers representing the Obama and McCain campaigns debated each other over intellectual property issues, including patent reform.
A video of the event, hosted by the Colorado Bar Association, is posted here.
Law360 has a report on the debate (subscribers only).