Greg Abbott

Gregory Wayne "Greg" Abbott(born November 13, 1957) is the Texas Attorney General, and is the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve in that role. Abbott was sworn in on December 2, 2002, following John Cornyn's election to the U.S. Senate. Prior to assuming the office of attorney general, Abbott was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, a position to which he was initially appointed in 1995 by then-Governor George W. Bush. He is noted outside the state of Texas for successfully defending the right of the state of Texas to display the Ten Commandments in front of the state Capitol in Austin in a 2005 United States Supreme Court case known as Van Orden v. Perry.

Personal history

Abbott was born in Wichita Falls and was reared in Duncanville (Dallas County). He and his wife, Cecilia P. Abbott, a former school teacher and principal, were married in 1982. They have a daughter named Audrey (born 1997).

After his graduation from the University of Texas in Austin, with a B.B.A. in finance, he received his law degree from the Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.

At age 26, Abbott was struck by a falling oak tree that injured his back as he jogged by. He has used a wheelchair ever since.

Political career

Abbott’s political career began in Houston, where he served as a state trial judge in the 129th District Court for three years. Bush appointed Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court, and he was then twice elected to the state’s highest civil court—in 1996 (two-year term) and 1998 (six-year term). In 1996, Abbott had no Democratic opponent but was challenged by Libertarian John B. Hawley of Dallas. Abbott obtained 3,201,185 votes (84.1 percent) to Hawley's 604,984 (15.85 percent). In 1998, Abbott defeated Democrat David Van Os of San Antonio, 2,104,828 (60.1 percent) to 1,396,924 (39.89 percent) to win a full term on the Supreme Court. However, he served just over half of the term.

As a judge he received awards including: "Jurist of the Year" from the Texas Review of Law & Politics; "Trial Judge of the Year" from the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists; and "Appellate Judge of the Year" from the Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates

Election as attorney general, 2002

Abbott resigned from the Supreme Court in 2001 to seek the open attorney general's position in 2002. The previous Attorney General John Cornyn vacated the post to run for the U.S. Senate. Abbott defeated the Democratic nominee, former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, for the position. He received 2,542,184 votes (56.72 percent) to Watson's 1,841,359 (41.08 percent). Two minor candidates held an additional 2.18 percent of the vote.

Lawsuit against Sony BMG

On November 21, 2005, Abbott sued Sony BMG. Texas is the first state in the nation to bring legal action against Sony BMG for illegal spyware. The suit is also the first filed under the state’s spyware law of 2005. It alleges the company surreptitiously installed the spyware on millions of compact music discs (CDs) that consumers inserted into their computers when they play the CDs, which can compromise the systems. On December 21, 2005 Abbott added new allegations to his lawsuit against Sony-BMG. Abbott says the MediaMax copy protection technology violates the state's spyware and deceptive trade practices laws. He says Sony-BMG offered consumers a licensing agreement when they bought CDs and played them on their computers. But, Abbott alleges in the lawsuit that even if consumers reject that agreement, spyware is secretly installed on their computers, which pose security risks for music buyers. Abbott said "We keep discovering additional methods Sony used to deceive Texas consumers who thought they were simply buying music", and "Thousands of Texans are now potential victims of this deceptive game Sony played with consumers for its own purposes." In addition to violations of the Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act of 2005, which allows for civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law, the alleged violations added in the updated lawsuit, on December 21, 2005, carry maximum penalties of $20,000 per violation.

Van Orden v. Perry

On March 2, 2005, Abbott appeared before the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., where he defended a Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds. Dozens of similar monuments were donated to cities and towns across the nation throughout the 1960s by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, who were inspired by the 1956 epic The Ten Commandments; in doing so, they gained the support of the film's director Cecil B. DeMille. The Supreme Court held in a 5-4 plurality decision, found the Texas display did not violate the Establishment Clause and was constitutional.

Hailing the Supreme Court's decision, Abbott said: "This is a great victory not just for Texans, but for all Americans. With this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a clear message that the Texas Ten Commandments can be displayed on public grounds in recognition of the historical role they have played in the foundation of this country and its laws." The Ten Commandments monument still stands just to the northwest of the Capitol in Austin.

Reelection as attorney general

Abbott was unopposed for renomination as attorney general in the March 7, 2006, Republican primary. In the November 7, general election, Abbott easily defeated civil rights attorney and self-styled "people's" Democrat David Van Os, who had been his Democratic opponent in the 1998 election for state Supreme Court. Abbott polled 2,556,063 (59.5 percent) to Van Os's 1,599,069 (37.3 percent). Libertarian Jon Roland received another 139,525 votes (3.3 percent).

Abbott handily won an unprecedented third term in the November 2, 2010, general election, making him the longest-serving Texas Attorney General in Texas history. He handily defeated the Democratic attorney Barbara Ann Radnofsky of Houston and, once again, the Libertarian Jon Roland. Radnofsky was also the unsuccessful Democratic candidate opposing U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison in the 2006 general election. Abbott received 3,151,064 votes (64.05 percent) while Radnofsky garnered 1,655,859 votes (33.66 percent).

Abbott also campaigned for other Republican candidates in 2010, including Jim Landtroop, the Plainview insurance agent who upset incumbent Democratic State Representative Joseph P. Heflin of Crosby County in the District 85 election. While on his Plainview stop, Abbott cited his and Landtroop's mutual opposition to the health care plan signed into law in March 2010 by President Barack Obama.

He is also rumored as a potential Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 2012 upon the news of Republican U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison declined to seek a fourth full six-year term and a possible candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2014.

Election history

Most recent election

2006

Previous elections

2002

1998

Sources

Official biography

Supreme Court on a Shoestring, The Washington Post, February 21, 2005

http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=1121

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0628/p01s03-usju.html

References

External links

Office of the Attorney General of Texas

Attorney General Abbott's campaign website

Category:Texas Attorneys General Category:Texas Supreme Court justices Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:People from Wichita Falls, Texas Category:People from Duncanville, Texas Category:American lawyers Category:Texas Republicans Category:Politicians with physical disabilities Category:1957 births Category:Living people