E. Duncan Getchell
Encyclopedia
Earle Duncan Getchell, Jr. (born October 12, 1949 in Mobile, Alabama
) is an American
lawyer
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
. Getchell is currently Solicitor General
of Virginia
.
on an Air Force
ROTC Scholarship and graduated with high honors. He then graduated with distinction from Duke University Law School, where he was on the staff and editorial board of the Duke Law Journal
.
After law school, Mr. Getchell worked as an associate at McGuire, Woods & Battle
for one year before serving as an Air Force JAG
Officer in the Office of the General Counsel for two years, attaining the rank of Captain. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve 1971–1977, with active duty assignment 1975–1977. After his tenure with the Air Force, Mr. Getchell returned to McGuire, Woods & Battle in 1977 and remained there for over thirty years. He was made a partner in 1981 and then headed the firm's appellate litigation.
In late 2009, Virginia Attorney General
Ken Cuccinelli
named him Solicitor General of Virginia.
Wintergreen’s trial lawyer blamed Getchell for the mistake. Wintergreen, however, sued the trial lawyer, Christopher C. Spencer of Richmond
, alleging legal malpractice
. The Virginian-Pilot
reported on the error in October 2007. In November 2007, Spencer sued Getchell for $7.5 million, accusing him and a law partner of defamation for trying to pass off blame in the Wintergreen case. In the lawsuit, Spencer accused Getchell of shifting blame "in hopes of salvaging a troubled nomination to the federal bench."
George W. Bush
nominated Getchell to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
vacated by Judge H. Emory Widener, Jr.
, who had taken senior status
on July 17, 2007. From September 2003 until January 2007, William J. Haynes, II
had been nominated for the position, but his nomination had met stiff opposition from Senate
Democrats
over his role as general counsel of the United States Department of Defense
in the formulation of rules concerning the use of torture
in Iraq
. Getchell was nominated as Haynes' replacement.
In 2006, Virginia’s two U.S. Senators at the time – John Warner
and George Allen
, both Republicans – had recommended three candidates from Virginia for two open seats on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Getchell was on that list. But before Bush acted, Allen was defeated for re-election by Democrat Jim Webb
. In July 2007, Warner and Webb submitted a new list of five names, and Getchell was not on it. Bush nominated Getchell anyway, noting that he was rated “highly qualified” by the Virginia State Bar
. Warner and Webb did not support him, so his nomination never received a hearing. The Wintergreen matter also complicated Getchell's nomination.
Getchell withdrew his nomination from consideration on January 23, 2008. On May 8, 2008, Federal District Court Judge
Glen E. Conrad
was nominated in his stead.
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
. Getchell is currently Solicitor General
Solicitor General
The term Solicitor General or Solicitor-General may refer to:*Michigan Solicitor General, the top appellate advocate for the State of Michigan...
of 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...
.
Background
Getchell attended Emory UniversityEmory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
on an Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
ROTC Scholarship and graduated with high honors. He then graduated with distinction from Duke University Law School, where he was on the staff and editorial board of the Duke Law Journal
Duke Law Journal
The Duke Law Journal is a student-run law review published at Duke University School of Law. The journal publishes general-interest articles and student notes in eight issues each year.- Overview :...
.
After law school, Mr. Getchell worked as an associate at McGuire, Woods & Battle
McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods LLP is a major U.S. law firm with more than 900 attorneys in 19 offices in the United States and Europe. With the firm's largest offices in Richmond, VA, Charlotte, NC, and Chicago, IL, McGuireWoods has recently experienced a period of rapid growth by opening new offices in London in...
for one year before serving as an Air Force JAG
Judge Advocate General's Corps
Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
Officer in the Office of the General Counsel for two years, attaining the rank of Captain. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve 1971–1977, with active duty assignment 1975–1977. After his tenure with the Air Force, Mr. Getchell returned to McGuire, Woods & Battle in 1977 and remained there for over thirty years. He was made a partner in 1981 and then headed the firm's appellate litigation.
In late 2009, Virginia Attorney General
Attorney General of Virginia
The Attorney General of Virginia is an executive office in the Government of Virginia. Attorneys General are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election . There are no term limits restricting the number of terms someone can serve as Attorney General...
Ken Cuccinelli
Ken Cuccinelli
Kenneth Thomas 'Ken' Cuccinelli II is a U.S. politician and the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2002 until January 16, 2010 he was a Republican member of the Senate of Virginia, representing the 37th district in Fairfax County...
named him Solicitor General of Virginia.
Wintergreen lawsuit
In 2005, Getchell was the lead appellate attorney in a case involving a severely injured skier at Wintergreen Resort, near Charlottesville. At trial, a jury awarded the skier $8 million. Getchell represented Wintergreen on appeal. The Virginia Supreme Court dismissed the appeal when it discovered that Wintergreen’s lawyers neglected to file the trial transcript. As a result, Wintergreen had to pay the $8 million judgment.Wintergreen’s trial lawyer blamed Getchell for the mistake. Wintergreen, however, sued the trial lawyer, Christopher C. Spencer of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, alleging legal malpractice
Legal malpractice
Legal malpractice is the term for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or breach of contract by an attorney that causes harm to his or her client...
. The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
reported on the error in October 2007. In November 2007, Spencer sued Getchell for $7.5 million, accusing him and a law partner of defamation for trying to pass off blame in the Wintergreen case. In the lawsuit, Spencer accused Getchell of shifting blame "in hopes of salvaging a troubled nomination to the federal bench."
Fourth Circuit nomination
On September 6, 2007, PresidentPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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....
nominated Getchell to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:*District of Maryland*Eastern District of North Carolina...
vacated by Judge H. Emory Widener, Jr.
H. Emory Widener, Jr.
Hiram Emory Widener Jr. was a United States federal judge and then a Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.-Early life and career:...
, who had taken senior status
Senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges, and judges in some state court systems. After federal judges have reached a certain combination of age and years of service on the federal courts, they are allowed to assume senior status...
on July 17, 2007. From September 2003 until January 2007, William J. Haynes, II
William J. Haynes, II
William James "Jim" Haynes II is an American lawyer and former General Counsel of the Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration. Haynes resigned as General Counsel effective March 2008...
had been nominated for the position, but his nomination had met stiff opposition from 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...
Democrats
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...
over his role as general counsel of the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
in the formulation of rules concerning the use of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Getchell was nominated as Haynes' replacement.
In 2006, Virginia’s two U.S. Senators at the time – John Warner
John Warner
John William Warner, KBE is an American Republican politician who served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Senator from Virginia from January 2, 1979, to January 3, 2009...
and George Allen
George Allen (U.S. politician)
George Felix Allen is a former United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the son of former NFL head coach George Allen. Allen served Virginia in the state legislature, as the 67th Governor, and in both bodies of the U.S. Congress, winning election to the Senate in 2000...
, both Republicans – had recommended three candidates from Virginia for two open seats on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Getchell was on that list. But before Bush acted, Allen was defeated for re-election by Democrat Jim Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
. In July 2007, Warner and Webb submitted a new list of five names, and Getchell was not on it. Bush nominated Getchell anyway, noting that he was rated “highly qualified” by the Virginia State Bar
Virginia State Bar
Created in 1938, The Virginia State Bar is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia whose purpose is to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. The Bar was established by an act of the Virginia General Assembly and is delegated the power to issue...
. Warner and Webb did not support him, so his nomination never received a hearing. The Wintergreen matter also complicated Getchell's nomination.
Getchell withdrew his nomination from consideration on January 23, 2008. On May 8, 2008, Federal District Court Judge
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...
Glen E. Conrad
Glen E. Conrad
Glen Edward Conrad is a U.S. district judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and a former federal judicial nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.- Background :...
was nominated in his stead.