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The Rice Thresher
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by Elizabeth Decker thresher staff
"I'm not the lawyer for the man, I'm not the lawyer for political questions involving the president," Gonzales said. "My job as I view it utmost is to protect the institution of the presidency." Gonzales (Lovett '79) practiced law with Vinson & Elkins in Houston before joining then-Governor George W. Bush's staff as general counsel in 1995. He also served as Bush's secretary of state in Texas and as a justice on the Supreme Court of Texas before he was appointed counsel to Bush's White House in January 2001. Rice University President Malcolm Gillis introduced Gonzales to an audience of about 225 students, faculty and community members gathered at Baker Hall Sept. 7. Gonzales said his job is one of the most rewarding in the legal field. "Serving as the president's lawyer has got to be one of the best legal jobs in America because my job includes a rewarding combination of law, politics and policy," Gonzales said. "I can't imagine having a better client than Mr. President. He's a man whose got a very strong moral compass." Gonzales advises the president on all legal matters, including the exercise of executive privilege, compliance with ethics laws and regulations, national security matters and the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Much of Gonzales' work consists of selecting and reviewing presidential appointees, focusing particularly on the selection of federal judges. "[Bush] told me during the transition that this would be a priority for two reasons: One, he understands the importance of federal judges in our system of government, and two, the number of vacancies that exist mean that many people who have claims, valid claims, and seek redress in our courts do not have the opportunity to do so because there is no judge to hear those claims," Gonzales said. Gonzales explained particular difficulties in selecting people for lifetime positions. "I have to confess to you, there is nothing scientific, and this may be difficult for Rice students to appreciate, nothing scientific or mechanical in the way that our committee recommends a person for a presidential appointment," Gonzales said. "It's often a decision based on imperfect information, an informed guess as to how an individual is going to resolve an issue, how they'll approach the next case, the next case next week, the next case a year from now, the next case five years from now or 20 years from now," he said. "We have to anticipate how the writing and analysis of men and women will change over the course of their professional career, and that's a very difficult thing to do if you think about it." Gonzales explained that a person's political beliefs are not considered in the process of reviewing nominees. "We consider a person's personal feelings about those kinds of issues as wholly irrelevant because we expect judges to put aside their own personal policy preferences, their own feeling about issues like that, and apply the law as given to them by the framers of the Constitution and by the Congress. "Now, one can legitimately ask whether it's possible - can you separate yourself from your own personal beliefs in rendering these kinds of decisions - and I say not only is it possible but absolutely necessary in our system of government where we expect our judges to be independent and to not develop policy," Gonzales said. Gonzales concluded his address by expressing his pride in Rice. "Much of my success is based upon dreams I had as a young boy, selling soft drinks at Rice Stadium, dreaming about coming to school at Rice University, and it all came true because I held on to that dream," Gonzales said. "I'm very proud to be a product of this institution." In a question and answer session moderated by Director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Edward Djerejian, Gonzales explained the role his Hispanic heritage has played in the White House. "It's not lost upon me that it's important for a certain segment of the American community that someone named Gonzales walks the halls of the West Wing," Gonzales said. "I get calls about it, I get letters about it. "People are very proud at the opportunity that I've been given by this president. I'm proud of that." Still, Gonzales reminded the audience that his impartiality as a judge was not affected by his ethnicity. "There is no Hispanic justice or Hispanic interpretation of legal issues," he said. Brown College sophomore Kevin Bailey said he chose to attend the speech because of the opportunity to see the inner workings of politics. "I came because I have an interest in politics, of course, and it's rare that we have such good access to what goes on daily in the president's office," Bailey said. Bailey was impressed with Gonzales' presentation. "My general reaction is that I think that Judge Gonzales is pretty honorable in what he does," Bailey said. Sid Richardson College sophomore Andrew Weber said he thinks it is important for students to support Rice alumni who have reached powerful positions. "If someone like that's going to come here, then we as students should definitely come out," Weber said.
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