James C. Duff is a former director of the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is the Administration (government), administrative Government agency, agency of the United States federal courts, United States federal court system, established in 1939. The central suppo ...
. He served from 2006 to 2011, and again from 2015 to 2020.
The Newseum
From September 2011 to December 2014, Duff was chief executive officer of the
Newseum
The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication.
The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...
, an interactive museum of news in Washington, D.C., that promotes free expression and the five freedoms of the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...
; president and CEO of the museum's Newseum Institute, which serves as a forum for First Amendment study, exploration and education; and president and CEO of the
Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum is the creator of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which it sold to Johns Hopkins University in 2019. It is a nonpartisan 501 (c)(3) foundation that advances First Amendment freedoms through initiatives that include the Power Sh ...
, a nonpartisan foundation that supports education about the First Amendment.
Education and early career
Duff graduated ''magna cum laude'' from the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
Honors Program in 1975 with a degree in political science and philosophy, where he was
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
. He also was a walk-on on the university's basketball team.
After studying at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in Scotland in 1974, he returned to the U.S. in 1975 and worked for four years as an aide in the chambers of Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
.
He graduated from
Georgetown Law
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment a ...
in 1981,
then worked at the law firm
Clifford and Warnke, where in 1990 he became a partner.
In 1991, a large contingent of Clifford and Warnke lawyers and staff, including Duff, merged with the firm of
Howrey and Simon, where he practiced antitrust, commercial litigation, and international trade until 1996.
Legal and political career
From 1996 to 2000, Duff was Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...
's Administrative Assistant, now called "Counselor to the Chief Justice,"
serving as his liaison with the other branches of government and as executive director of the
Judicial Fellows Commission. He preceded
Sally Rider as the Chief Justice's chief of staff, in which Duff assisted Rehnquist in his roles as chair of the
Judicial Conference of the United States and the
Federal Judicial Center Board. He also served as counselor to the Chief Justice as presiding officer of the U.S. Senate's 1999 presidential impeachment trial.
From 2000 to 2006, Duff served as the managing partner of the
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
office of
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C. is a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group with offices in the Southeastern United States and Washington, D.C. '' Fortune'' has selected Baker Donelson as one of the 100 Best Companies to Wor ...
, which was opened by former Majority Leader Howard Baker Jr. There he represented the
Federal Judges Association before Congress as well as the
Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum is the creator of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which it sold to Johns Hopkins University in 2019. It is a nonpartisan 501 (c)(3) foundation that advances First Amendment freedoms through initiatives that include the Power Sh ...
.. He also represented the University of Kentucky's federal government interests in Washington and at the request of NCAA President Myles Brand, in 2006 he authored an overview and report to the NCAA on its rules and procedures. Duff has taught constitutional law at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
as an adjunct professor. He was named the Peter Mullen Professor of Law at Georgetown University for the fall of 2014 and previously served as the first lecturer of the Giles Seminar at Georgetown for two years.
In September 2005, Duff was a pallbearer at Rehnquist's funeral,
alongside seven of Rehnquist's former law clerks. Duff authored a tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist in the November 2005 edition of the ''
Harvard Law Review''
[Duff, James C. 2005. "In Memoriam: William H. Rehnquist." Harvard Law Review, volume 119, issue 1, p. 16-1]
/ref> and spoke at the unveiling Ceremony for the William H. Rehnquist bust in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court in December 2009.
From July 2006 through September 15, 2011, Duff served as Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is the administrative agency of the United States federal court system, established in 1939. The central support entity for the federal judicial branch, the AO provides a wide range of l ...
. He was appointed in April 2006 by United States Chief Justice John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
.[Arberg, Kathy (April 2006). Press Release]
(HTML)
Retrieved on 2008-05-08 On May 31, 2011, Duff announced that he was stepping down to assume the position of CEO at the Freedom Forum
The Freedom Forum is the creator of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., which it sold to Johns Hopkins University in 2019. It is a nonpartisan 501 (c)(3) foundation that advances First Amendment freedoms through initiatives that include the Power Sh ...
.
He was appointed to the Georgetown Law Center's Board of Visitors in 2014 and serves on the boards of Freedom House, the Supreme Court Historical Society and the University of Kentucky Arts & Sciences Advisory Board. He was named to the University of Kentucky Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 2012 and was given the Georgetown Entertainment and Media Law Achievement Award in 2012. Duff was elected to the membership at the American Law Institute in 2016.
On November 4, 2014, it was announced by Chief Justice John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
that Duff would once again become Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO) is the administrative agency of the United States federal court system, established in 1939. The central support entity for the federal judicial branch, the AO provides a wide range of l ...
, effective January 1, 2015. He succeeded Director Judge John D. Bates
John Deacon Bates (born October 11, 1946) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in December 2001, and has adjudicated several cases ...
. He retired on December 31, 2020.
Personal life
Duff and his wife, Kathleen Gallagher Duff, live in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
, and have three children.
References
External links
The Supreme Court Fellows Program
(Information about Sally Rider)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duff, James C.
American lawyers
Living people
People from Bethesda, Maryland
Georgetown University Law Center alumni
University of Kentucky alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)