Jay Bybee

Jay S. Bybee (1953-) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, he, or his staff, developed the legal guidance that certain intelligence interrogation techniques, as well as extrajudicial detention procedures did not violate U.S. or international laws concerning torture or extrajudicial detention. In addition to his judicial appointment, he is a founder and adjunct professor of the Boyd Law School of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Current issues
He is one of several U.S. government legal and policy advisers, against whom criminal charges for the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention camp is being considered in Spain. The Spanish Attorney General did not accept prosecutors' proposals to proceed, although the final decision is with a Spanish judge. The others are UC Berkeley law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. "Jim" Haynes II,  Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff David Addington, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith.

Court
The Senate confirmed his appointment to the Court by a 74-19 voite on March 13, 2003. During the confirmation hearings, he was criticized for a restricted view of Federal power as opposed to state authority, and of individual rights. 74-19 to approve the president’s nomination of Bybee to succeed Judge Procter Hug Jr., who took senior status.

Academic
He held a variety of academic appointments. After leaving the White House, he moved from Assistant to Full Professor at Louisiana State University between 1991 and 1998, and then moved to the University of Nevada in 1999.

Executive Branch
From 2001 to 2003, he was Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, the Justice Department office that advises other offices in the executive branch of the legality of proposed actions. One of his deputies was John Yoo. Prior to the Office of Legal Counsel, he was Associate Counsel to the President George W. Bush (1989-91).

From 1984 to 1989, he was a staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, first in the Office of Legal Policy and then in the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division.

Education and early career
He received a B.A. (Magna Cum Laude, and with Highest Honors) in Economics (1977) and J.D. (Cum Laude), J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University. After graduation, he was a Law Clerk for The Honorable Donald Russell, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1980-81). Bybee then was in private practice with Sidley & Austin, Washington, DC (1981-84)