Sixteen appointees and advisers helping president-elect Barack Obama’s Justice Department transition efforts all recently sat on the board of an organization little known outside legal circles: The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy.

The liberal legal network, which blossomed during eight years of Democratic exile, counts as its veterans Obama’s choice for attorney general, Eric Holder: Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain; and future White House Staff Secretary Lisa Brown.

Seven other recent board members are advising the incoming administration on legal, education, and labor-related issues. Theresa Wynn Roseborough is rumored to be a top candidate for solicitor general. And, at least two other members were also rumored to be in the running for key Cabinet posts.

This mirrors almost exactly the role that the Federalist Society has taken in conservative administrations, acting as a sort of unofficial steering committee and a feeder system for appointments in the Department of Justice and the federal bench. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito both rose through the ranks, as have many others, largely through association with the Federalist Society.

Environment
Clean Energy Now, a coalition of leading environmental and watchdog groups, is launching a campaign to call on Gov. Jennifer Granholm to fight global warming. It’s holding a series of press conferences across the state on Tuesday, March 18.

The coalition is urging the governor to use her executive authority to crack down on global warming CO2 emissions. The coalition says Michigan is threatened by up to seven more coal-fired power plants if no action is taken.

The first press conference kicks off in downtown Lansing at 10 a.m. at the corner of Genesee and Seymour streets, three blocks north of the Capitol. It will feature David Holtz, from Clean Water Action; Anne Woiwode, from the Sierra Club; Dan Farough, from Progress Michigan; James Clift, from the Michigan Environmental Council; and Mike Shriberg, from the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor.

Continued -The press conferences in Southeast Michigan will be held at 1 p.m. at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, near the intersection of 5th and Detroit, featuring Mike Garfield, from the Ecology Center; Katie Kelly, Clean Water Action; Brian Beauchamp, Michigan League of Conservation Voters; and Danielle Korpalski, Environment Michigan. A press conference will also be held at 12:30 p.m. at the Royal Oak Library, 222 East Eleven Mile Rd., with David Lllewelyn, Sierra Club; Lynna Kaucheck, Clean Water Action; Dianna Seals, East Michigan Environmental Action Council; and Farough. In Mt. Clemens, the press conference will be held at 2 p.m. at Metro Beach Activities Center, 31300 Metro Parkway, with Christie McGilivary, Clean Water Action; Eric Douglas, Alternate Energy Solutions; Doug Martz, St. Clair Channel Keeper; and Farough.

The press conference in the Tri-Cities area will be held at 1 p.m. in Bay City at the Saginaw River boat launch, and those in attendance will be Holtz; Lee Sprague, Sierra Club; Terry Miller, Lone Tree Council; and Peter Sinclair and Janea Little from MidlandCARES.

Press conferences in West Michigan will be held in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. The event in Grand Rapids will be held at 11:30 a.m. in room 205 of Winter Hall on the campus of Grand Valley State University with Jan O’Connell, Sierra Club; Rachel Hood, West Michigan Environmental Action Council; Sister Lucille Janowiak, Michigan Interfaith Power and Light, Marta Johnson, Clean Water Action; Danielle Ostafinski, Grand Valley Student Environmental Coalition; Bob Stegmeir, Dwight Liddell Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. The Press conference in Kalamazoo will be held at 2:30 p.m. at the Superfund site on Alcott Street, between Burdick and Portage streets. It will feature Don Brown, Kalamazoo Environmental Coalition; Jim Heaton, Sierra Club; and Becky Jo Farrington, Clean Water Action.

Legal Concerns
The Michigan Lawyers Chapter of the American Constitution Society is presenting a program from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday at Wayne State Law School that looks at the regressive trends of the current Michigan Supreme Court (1999-2007) and its harm to workers, consumers, the environment, and the rule of law.

The review will feature Frank Wu, Dean and Professor of Law at Wayne State; Gary Maveal, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; Jeffrey S. Silver, Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; Michael D. Elkins, founding partner, Elkins and Associates; Mark Granzotto, founding partner, Granzotto and Nicita; Mary Ellen Gurewitz, Sachs Waldman, Professional Corporation; Michael K. Lee, Lee and Associates; Michael L. Pitt, managing partner, Pitt, McGehee, Palmer, Rivers and Golden; Katherine Razdolsky, Assets International; Douglas B. Shapiro, senior partner, Muth and Shapiro; and Michigan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, 471 W. Palmer Street in Detroit.

Open Government
To celebrate Sunshine Week, former Senate Republican Leader Ken Sikkema and former House Democratic Leader Dianne Byrum will discuss government transparency at 7 p.m. Thursday at the East Lansing Library. The media representatives on the program will be reporter, columnist, Michigan Radio political analyst and journalism professor Jack Lessenberry and Michigan Associated Press bureau chief Kathy Barks Hoffman. It is free and open to the public. The event is sponsored by the Mid-Michigan chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.
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