Froilan Tenorio

Froilan Tenorio is the former president of the Northern Mariana Islands. During and after his presidency, which lasted from 1994 to 1998, Froilan Tenorio was associated with several legal controversies. In legal history, the most notable is the case of Sonoda v. Cabrera, in which litigation continued past the end of his presidency.

Sonoda v. Cabrera had its roots in an executive order drafted by Froilan Tenorio in 1994, numbered Executive Order 94-3. This proposed law stated that anyone working for the government capacity at a level of authority greater than that of division director would work "at the pleasure of" the Governor. This meant that any such government workers could be hired and fired at the discretion of Froilan Tenorio. The legislature did not object to or alter the wording of Executive Order 94-3, allowing it to take effect.

In 1995, Jose A. Sonoda was chosen by Froilan Tenorio to a position within the government's Department of Finance. As part of his hiring, Sonoda signed a two-year contract, as well as an agreement stipulating the terms of his employment. These terms noted that the governor had hiring and firing authority. In March of 1996, Sonoda had testified before a legislative committee and expressed views of the political party opposing Froilan Tenorio. When he was fired shortly thereafter, Sonoda concluded that he had been fired in retaliation for his testimony and filed suit against Froilan Tenorio as well as the Secretary of Finance, Antonio R. Cabrera.

The district court in which Sonoda filed suit passed the case along to the Supreme Court of the Northern Mariana Islands. In April of 1997, the court ruled that the actions taken by Froilan Tenorio had exceeded his legal authority. The court also found that Executive Order 94-3 was itself in violation of the constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands, since it claimed the authority to deem government jobs as exempt from the regulations of the civil service system. Under the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands, such distinctions can only be made by the legislature. Therefore, Executive Order 94-3 was struck down.

This verdict was appealed by Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Cabrera. In 1999, the appeals court processing their request declined to issue a ruling on grounds that the court did not have the authority to consider issues which do not involve federal laws and rights. Sonoda then filed a motion seeking a summary judgment against Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Cabrera. This motion was dismissed in 2000 on grounds that Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Cabrera were immune from judgment against them because they had acted on the reasonable assumption that their actions were legal.

In 2001, an appeals court reversed this ruling, noting that even if Froilan Tenorio and Antonio Cabrera had acted on the assumption that Executive Order 94-3 was legal, they should have been aware that firing an employee in retaliation for his testimony was a violation of his free speech rights.

Robert Torricelli

Robert Torricelli is a former Senator from New Jersey who only served a single term. He withdrew from the election race after allegations that he had accepted bribes from a businessman were made public.

Robert Torricelli was an elected member of the US House of Representatives from 1983 to 1997, serving as the representative of the 9th district of New Jersey. In 1996, he ran for the United States Senate and was elected. He began his term in January 1997 and served until January of 2003.

In the weeks prior to the election, a businessman named David Chang publicly stated allegations about bribing Robert Torricelli. Chang stated that he had sought the cooperation of the office of Robert Torricelli in helping him obtain payment from North Korea which he had sold to that nation. To that end, David Chang alleged that he had bribed Robert Torricelli with gifts such as Italian suits, a new Rolex watch, and a 52-inch television set. Though Robert Torricelli denied all the allegations, he decided to drop out of the race regardless.

David Chang's statements were made following his agreement with federal prosecutors to receive a reduced sentence for illegal campaign contributions within the state in return for testimony about corruption in the state's political system. However, prosecutor decided not to prosecute Robert Torricelli because Chang's testimony as a convicted felon would lack credibility, making it difficult to obtain a guilty verdict.

However, the state's Democratic Party had difficulty replacing Robert Torricelli's name on the ballot. State law stipulates that the names of candidates in an election cannot be changed any closer than 51 days after the election. However, Robert Torricelli exited from the race 35 days before the election. Therefore, legally Democrats were prohibited from replacing his name on the ballot with that of his replacement candidate, Frank Lautenberg.

Democrats argued before the State Supreme Court that despite the law, they should be allowed to replace Robert Torricelli's name in the public interest of the voters. Republicans argued before the Supreme Court that because the language of the legislation in question is clear and unambiguous, the Democratic request for an exception to the rules should not be argued. In its unanimous ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court stated that it had decided it was in the public interest to grant the Democratic status, allowing for the replacement of Robert Torricelli's name on all ballots.

Following the end of his political career, Robert Torricelli became a lobbyist. In 2010, he again attracted attention when it was reported that he had used funds which were raised in the course of his aborted Senate re-election race and donating them to the campaigns of other politicians. While these donations did not violate federal law, the contributions attracted media attention and were cited as evidence of the need to create new laws regarding the legal use of money raised during political campaigns.

Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky is a prominent legal scholar specializing in issues of constitutional law. Though he has acted as a lawyer in several capacities, Erwin Chemerinsky is better known for his public commentary on a number of prominent issues.

One of his prominent public moments came in 2000, when he was asked by the Los Angeles Police Department to analyze the results of a Board of Inquiry investigation into the so-called "Rampart Scandal." This refers to a series of incidents involving corrupt LAPD officers from 1997 to 2000. The first of these was the fatal March 1997 shooting of an off-duty LAPD officer, Kevin Gaines, by another undercover officer, Frank Lyga. Lyga claimed that Gaines had threatened him and he had acted in self-defense.

The next incident took place in November 1997, when a bank robbery was linked to police officer David Mack. In February 1998, officer Brian Hewitt allegedly beat a hand-cuffed gang member, resulting in internal injuries. Hewitt was a member of the CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) division, part of the Rampart department. In March 1998, another officer in this division, Rafael Perez, was linked with the disappearance of more than six pounds of cocaine confiscated as police evidence. In September 1999, Perez agreed to a plea bargain. Under the terms of this plea bargain, he spent nine months detailing his knowledge of corruption in the Rampart department, implicating approximately 70 of his fellow officers in misconduct.

In response to these revelations, police chief Bernard Parks convened a Board of Inquiry to investigate the Rampart unit. Their report was issued in March 2000 and blamed poor management practices. The CRASH unit was disbanded that same month.

In September 2000, Erwin Chemerinsky completed his independent analysis of the Board of Inquiry's report. This report concluded that their report had deliberately understated and underestimated problems of corruption within the LAPD force, failed to firmly state the problems of the police force's internal culture, did not adequately consider how to institute internal reforms, did not adequately address LAPD procedures for handling cases in which officers made use of excessive force, failed to adequately consider malfunctioning internal discipline procedures, and did acknowledge problems endemic to the entire criminal justice system of the city of Los Angeles. That same month, the United States Department of Justice was given the authority by the Los Angeles City Council to supervise reforms within the LAPD for the following five years.

Following the release of this analysis by Erwin Chemerinsky, another independent review panel issued their report in November 2000. This report supported his findings, noting that the LAPD compromised its own internal investigations of disciplinary violations and was viewed by the communities it patrolled as violent and unresponsive or actively hostile.

In 2009, Erwin Chemerinsky assumed the position of founding dean at the newly formed school of law at the University of California at Irvine.

Who is Ben Quayle?

Ben Quayle is most known for his role as an American
politician as well a Republican U.S. Representative for the third congressional
district of Arizona.

Ben Quayle was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 5,
1976 as the second son to his father, the former Vice President of the United
States. He was just born only three days after his father was elected into the
U.S. House of representatives. Ben Quayle often found himself visiting the
White House along with the rest of his family during the Regan presidency.

Ben Quayle attended Duke University and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in history in 1998 and then went on to receive his Juris
Doctor in 2002 from Vanderbilt University Law School.

After school, he worked as an associate in the Schulte Roth
and Zabel law firm and after the Snell & Wilmer law firm. He then became
the founder as well as the managing director of Tynwald Capital, which was a
law firm that specialized in acquiring and nurturing small businesses.  He then became a APG-Southwest along with the
Managing Partner of the Arizona Branch of APG Security, which provided various
security services for businesses.

In the 2010 election, Ben Quayle ran for the seat of the 3rd
congressional district of Arizona, which he won by defeating Green Party
nominee Leonard Clark, Libertarian nominee Michael Shoen, and Democratic
nominee Jon Hulburd. He then succeeded 8-term Republican Representative John Shadegg
and took his place as a Representative.

As a representative, Ben Quayle currently sits on the
following committees:

·        
Committee on Science, Space & Technology

o  
Subcommittee on Research & Science Education

o  
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Technology &
Innovation

·        
Committee on the Judiciary

o  
Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Intellectual
Property, Competition, & the Internet

o  
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, & Homeland
Security

·        
Republican Study Committee

·        
Committee on Homeland Security

o  
Vice Chair Subcommittee on Border & Maritime
Security

o  
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism &
Intelligence

Some of Ben Quayle’s opinions on influential subjects
include:

·        
Opposition to the Patient Protection & Affordable
Care Act of 2010

o  
Ben Quayle feels the act should be replaced with
medical tort reform.

·        
Supports the second amendment which allows law abiding
citizens to possess and bear arms.

·        
Suggests lowering taxes and revisiting
regulations that detriment job growth.

·        
Promotes furthering education reform in order to
destroy bureaucratic roadblocks that prevent school teachers and administrators
from successfully doing their jobs.

·        
Supports veteran’s benefits by providing quality
care for those who protect the country.

Who is Charles Rangel?

Charles Rangel is most known for his role as the Republican U.S.
Representative for the 15^th congressional district of New York. He
has served this office since 1971, making Charles Rangel the third-longest
currently serving member within the House of Representatives.

Charles Rangel was born on January 3. 1971 in Harlem and
found himself with a difficult childhood. He dropped out of high school and
volunteered for Army Service during the Korean War. He was awarded a Purple
Heart along with a Bronze Star during the war after leading a group of comrades
out of a Chinese Army Encirclement.

After his service, he earned degrees through the G.I. Bill
at New York University as well as St. John’s Law School. After obtaining his
Juris Doctor in 1960, Charles Rangel worked as a private lawyer, legal counsel,
and an Assistant U.S. Attorney throughout the 1960’s. He also served in the New
York State Assembly for two terms and then defeated incumbent Congressmen
Powell Jr. in the primary for the House of Representatives. He won the 1970
general election with the Republican and Democratic backing.

Since winning the 1970 election, Charles Rangel has
maintained his seat for every election, with at least 90% of the vote. He has
often received the support of the Democratic party as well as the Republican
and Liberal Party in New York.

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Charles Rangel
has the follow caucus memberships:

·        
House Democratic Caucus

·        
Congressional Black Caucus

·        
International Conservation Caucus

Charles Rangel also has had the following committees:

·        
Ranking member from 1996 to 2006 and Chair 2007
to 2010 of the Committee on Ways & Means

·        
Chair during 2007 and 2009 and Vice Chair in
2008 and 2010 of the Joint Committee on Taxation

·        
Chair from 1983 to 1993 of the Select Committee
on Narcotics Abuse and Control

·        
Committee on the Judiciary

·        
Select Committee on Crime

Some of Charles Rangel’s opinions on influential subjects
include:

·        
Support for President’s Obama’s initiative to
bring home American troops from abroad.

·        
Support for the Patient Protection & Affordable
Care Act of 2010.

·        
Believes that American foreign policy should
focus on international security and freedom across the world and should help
provide aid and resources to impoverished nations and also disaster relief to
others when necessary

·        
Supports President Obama’s stance on going
against privatizing Medicare and Social Security

·        
Committed to protecting the environment and the
earth’s natural resources by increasing fuel economy standards, reducing
greenhouse emissions, and preserving the earth.

·        
Supports the protection of at-risk families
through the creation of affordable housing.