James J. Eisenhower (born January 30, 1958) is an American lawyer and judge from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is a judge on the Pennsylvania First Judicial District's Court of Common Pleas. He was previously a Judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline. Eisenhower was Of Counsel at Philadelphia law firm Dilworth Paxson LLP. His practice centered around white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, compliance, ethics and campaign finance matters.
Jim Eisenhower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline | |
| Assumed office January 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Tom Wolf |
| Chair of the Board of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority | |
| In office 2007–2011 | |
| Appointed by | Ed Rendell |
| Preceded by | Lauri A. Kavulich |
| Succeeded by | Sam Katz |
| Member of the Board of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority | |
| In office 2005–2007 | |
| Appointed by | Ed Rendell |
| Preceded by | Kenneth I. Trujillo |
| Succeeded by | Robert L. Archie Jr. |
| Chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency | |
| In office 2003–2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 30, 1958[1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Nora Dowd Eisenhower[2] |
| Residence(s) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Education | Temple University (BA) Antioch School of Law (JD) Oxford University (MPhil) |
Education
editJames earned a B.A. from Temple University and a J.D. degree from Antioch School of Law. He earned a Master of Philosophy from Oxford University where he was a Marshall Scholar. His Master's thesis concerned an examination of the philosophical concept of the rule of law and British emergency powers in Northern Ireland. He studied under Geoffrey Marshall, Joe Raz and Ronald Dworkin. James has served on the Board of the Association of Marshall Scholars.
Personal life
editJames is married to Nora Dowd Eisenhower. They have two children.
He is a distant relative of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He is an amateur guitar player, and was known to play during campaign events, even playing a guitar solo with Philadelphia indie rock band Cecil B. during a "Jammin' for Jim" rally at University of Pennsylvania.
Legal career
editJames began his legal career as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.[3]
James was of counsel at the Philadelphia law firm Dilworth Paxson LLP where he focused his practice on government and regulatory matters and white-collar criminal defense. He has been named to the "Best Lawyers in America" list. James has represented public officials in federal and state ethics investigations, advised clients in federal, state and local campaign finance matters, and has represented the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, as well a national financial institution in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania regulatory matters.
Some of his major representations include:
In 2006, he led a team of attorneys representing Don Barden in his winning the Pittsburgh gaming license. Barden was the sole minority awardee for a Pennsylvania gaming license.
In 2011, James was lead counsel in representing the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in the revocation of the Foxwoods gaming license resulting in a $50 million forfeiture to the Commonwealth. This was the largest gaming related forfeiture in the history of the Commonwealth.
In 2017, he represented the former chief of staff to Governor Ed Rendell in a federal criminal matter.
In 2019, James represented US Congressman Bob Brady in a federal criminal investigation.
James was also an assistant professor at Temple University School of Law. He taught Jurisprudence, the Philosophy of Law, and US election law.
Government career
editJames served as former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's chief criminal justice advisor during Rendell's 2002 gubernatorial election. After Rendell's election, Eisenhower served on the "Governor's Cabinet for Children and Families" within the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. From 1994 to 1997 he served as Chief Counsel of the Police Advisory Commission of Philadelphia.
In 2005, Rendell named him Chairman of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, the inter-governmental body that regulates finances for the city of Philadelphia. During the governorship of Rendell, James also chaired the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the commonwealth's lead agency for criminal justice, children delinquency prevention and the protection of victims of crime.
In 2019, Governor Tom Wolf appointed James to the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline. He was President Judge of the 8 member Court from 2022-2023.
Political career
editIn May 2011, he was named to the Board of Directors for Congreso, a Philadelphia-based and nationally recognized multi-service organization. Congreso's goal is to alleviate poverty and promote economic self-sufficiency to ensure that our most vulnerable populations have the educational credentials and workforce skills to compete in a global economy.
In 2008, James was surrogate speaker and primary Election Day counsel for Hillary Clinton. Later that year, he served as general election federal court counsel for Barack Obama.
From 2007 through 2011 he served as the chair of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA), the state authority that oversees the finances of the city of Philadelphia.
James was the Democratic nominee for the 2000 Pennsylvania Attorney General election and the 2004 Pennsylvania Attorney General election. He won the Democratic primary twice against John Morganelli (2000, 2004) and David Barasch (2004). He narrowly lost the 2004 general election to future Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett.
In 2003, he was named to the "Power 75" list of politically influential people in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Report.
Public service
editJames served on the White House staff at the National Security Council during the presidency of Bill Clinton. He authored PDD 42, the presidential decision directive on international crime and the executive order that seized the assets of the Colombian Cali Cartel.
Representative Experience
edit- Represented the Chief of Staff to the Democratic Leader of the House in the Pennsylvania "Bonusgate matter".
- Represented several members of Congress in campaign finance and federal investigations.
- Represented the former Chief of Staff to Governor Ed Rendell in a federal investigation.
- Represented the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in the forfeiture of the Foxwoods Gaming License, resulting in a 50 million dollar forfeiture to the Commonwealth, the largest gaming related forfeiture in the history of Pennsylvania.
- Handled matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and involving wiretaps authorized by Title III of the federal criminal code.
- Represented US Congressman Bob Brady in a federal criminal investigation.
Awards and recognition
edit- Edward J. McLaughlin Award for Distinguished Service to Victims, Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia, 2009
- Eisenhower Fellow, 2002
- White House Fellow, 1995-1996
- Attorney's General's Award, 1993
- Sustained Superior Performance of Duty Award – US Department of Justice, 1992
- Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Performance in the Activities of the Civil Rights Division, US Department of Justice, 1988
- Honors Recruit – US Department of Justice, 1987
- Marshall Scholar, 1982
- Lyndon Baines Johnson Congressional Internship, 1977
References
edit- ^ a b Hubbell, Martindale (March 2001). Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Volume 1; Volume 6; Volumes 8-9; Volume 11; Volumes 13-15. Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN 9781561604395.
- ^ Mauriello, Tracie (October 11, 2008). "Department of Aging secretary resigns". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.