The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (December 2010)

Justitia, symbol of the judiciary^[1][2] (statue at Shelby County Courthouse, Memphis, TN, United States)

The "Judiciary" (also known as the judicial system) is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make law (that is, in a plenary fashion, which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case. This branch of the state is often tasked with ensuring equal justice under law. It usually consists of a court of final appeal (called the "Supreme court" or "Constitutional court"), together with lower courts.

In many jurisdictions the judicial branch has the power to change laws through the process of judicial review. Courts with judicial review power may annul the laws and rules of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher norm, such as primary legislation, the provisions of the constitution or international law. Judges constitute a critical force for interpretation and implementation of a constitution, thus de facto in common law countries creating the body of constitutional law.

During last decades the judiciary became active in economic issues related with economic rights established by constitution because "economics may provide insight into questions that bear on the proper legal interpretation".^[3] Since many a country with a transitional political and economic system continues treating its constitution as an abstract legal document disengaged from the economic policy of the state, practice of judicial review of economic acts of executive and legislative branches began to grow.

In the 1980s, the Supreme Court of India for almost a decade had been encouraging public interest litigation on behalf of the poor and oppressed by using a very broad interpretation of several articles of the Indian Constitution.^[4]

Budget of the judiciary in many transitional and developing countries is almost completely controlled by the executive. The latter undermines the separation of powers, as it creates a critical financial dependence of the judiciary. The proper national wealth distribution including the government spending on the judiciary is subject of the constitutional economics. It is important to distinguish between the two methods of corruption of the judiciary: the state (through budget planning and various privileges), and the private.^[5]

The term "judiciary" is also used to refer collectively to the personnel, such as judges, magistrates and other adjudicators, who form the core of a judiciary (sometimes referred to as a "bench"), as well as the staffs who keep the system running smoothly.

History[link]

After the French Revolution, lawmakers stopped interpretation of law by judges, and the legislature was the only body permitted to interpret the law; this prohibition was later overturned by the Code Napoléon.^[6]

In civil law jurisdictions at present, judges interpret the law to about the same extent as in common law jurisdictions^{[citation needed]} – though it may be acknowledged in theory in a different manner than in the common law tradition which directly recognizes the limited power to make law. For instance, in France, the jurisprudence constante of the Court of Cassation or the Council of State is equivalent in practice with case law.

Various functions[link]

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• In common or provinces^{[clarification needed]}, courts interpret law, including constitutions, statutes, and regulations. They also make law (but in a limited sense, limited to the facts of particular cases) based upon prior case law in areas where the legislature has not made law. For instance, the tort of negligence is not derived from statute law in most common law jurisdictions. The term common law refers to this kind of law.
• In civil law jurisdictions, courts interpret the law, but are, at least in theory, prohibited from creating law, and thus, still in theory, do not issue rulings more general than the actual case to be judged. In practice, jurisprudence plays the same role as case law^{[citation needed]}.
• In the United States court system, the Supreme Court is the final authority on the interpretation of the federal Constitution and all statutes and regulations created pursuant to it, as well as the constitutionality of the various state laws; in the US federal court system, federal cases are tried in trial courts, known as the US district courts, followed by appellate courts and then the Supreme Court. State courts, which try 98% of litigation,^[7] may have different names and organization; trial courts may be called "courts of common plea", appellate courts "superior courts" or "commonwealth courts".^[8] The judicial system, whether state or federal, begins with a court of first instance, is appealed to an appellate court, and then ends at the court of last resort.^[9]
• In France, the final authority on the interpretation of the law is the Council of State for administrative cases, and the Court of Cassation for civil and criminal cases.
• In the People Republic of China, the final authority on the interpretation of the law is the National People's Congress.
• Other countries such as Argentina have mixed systems that include lower courts, appeals courts, a cassation court (for criminal law) and a Supreme Court. In this system the Supreme Court is always the final authority, but criminal cases have four stages, one more than civil law does. On the court sits a total of nine justices. This number has been changed several times.

See also[link]

• Bench (law)
• Constitutional economics
• Corruption
• Judicial independence
• Judicial review
• Legislature
• Rule According to Higher Law
• Rule of law

Further reading[link]

• Cardozo, Benjamin N. (1998). The Nature of the Judicial Process. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Feinberg, Kenneth, Jack Kress, Gary McDowell, and Warren E. Burger (1986). The High Cost and Effect of Litigation, 3 vols.
• Frank, Jerome (1985). Law and the Modern Mind. Birmingham, AL: Legal Classics Library.
• Levi, Edward H. (1949) An Introduction to Legal Reasoning. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Marshall, Thurgood (2001). Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions and Reminiscences. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
• McCloskey, Robert G., and Sanford Levinson (2005). The American Supreme Court, 4th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Miller, Arthur S. (1985). Politics, Democracy and the Supreme Court: Essays on the Future of Constitutional Theory. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
• Tribe, Laurence (1985). God Save This Honorable Court: How the Choice of Supreme Court Justices Shapes Our History. New York: Random House.
• Zelermyer, William (1977). The Legal System in Operation. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.

Notes[link]

Look up judiciary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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Patrick Scott (born 1921 in Kilbrittain, County Cork) is an Irish artist.

Patrick Scott had his first exhibition in 1944, but trained as an architect and did not become a full time artist until 1960. He worked for fifteen years for the Irish architect Michael Scott, assisting, for example, in the design of Busáras, the central bus station in Dublin. He is also responsible for the orange livery of Irish intercity trains.

Patrick Scott is best known for his gold paintings, abstracts incorporating geometrical forms in gold leaf against a pale tempura background. He also produces tapestries and carpets.

His paintings are in several important collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He won the Guggenheim Award in 1960, represented Ireland in the XXX Venice Biennale, the Douglas Hyde Gallery held a major retrospective of his work in 1981 and the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin held a major survey in 2002. His works are distinguished by their purity and sense of calm, reflecting his own interest in Zen Buddhism.

On July 11, 2007, Scott, who is a founding member of Aosdána, was conferred with the title of Saoi, the highest honour that can be bestowed upon an Irish artist. Uachtarán na hÉireann Mary McAleese made the presentation, placing a gold torc, the symbol of the office of Saoi, around his neck. No more than seven living members may hold this honour at any one time.^[3]

Work in collections[link]

• Dublin City University:
  • Sea Foam
• Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin
• Gulf Oil Corporation, Pittsburg
• Ulster Museum, Belfast
• The Museum of Modern Art, New York
• Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
• Trinity College, Dublin
• National University of Ireland, Galway

References[link]

External links[link]

• Aosdána biographical note
• IACI O'Malley Art Award presented to Patrick Scott

This Irish painter article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Ted Cruz
Texas Solicitor General
In office 2003 – May 2008
Preceded by	Julie Parsley
Succeeded by	James C. Ho
Personal details
Born	(1970-12-22) December 22, 1970 (age 41) Calgary, Alberta, Canada[1]
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Heidi Suzanne Cruz
Children	Caroline Camille Catherine Christiane
Residence	Houston, Texas
Alma mater	Princeton University Harvard Law School
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist[2]
Website	tedcruz.org

Rafael Edward Cruz, known as Ted Cruz (born December 22, 1970), is the former Solicitor General of the U.S. state of Texas, a position which he held from 2003 to May 2008. Cruz was appointed by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in the United States, and had the longest tenure in the post thus far in Texas history. He is currently a partner at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he leads the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.^[3]

Cruz is a candidate for the 2012 Republican nomination for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison.^[4]

Cruz previously served as the director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission, an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as Domestic Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign. In addition, from 2004-2009 Cruz was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Early life and education[link]

Cruz was born to a Cuban-American father and an American mother in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where his parents were working in the petroleum business.^[1] His father was imprisoned and tortured in Cuba until he escaped to freedom in Texas in 1957.^[5]

Cruz attended high school at Faith West Academy in Katy, Texas,^[6] and then graduated from Second Baptist High School in Houston.

Cruz earned his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's Debate Panel as one of North America's top-ranked parliamentary debaters, winning the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship.^[7] In 1992, he was named Speaker of the Year and Team of the Year (with his debate partner, David Panton) by the American Parliamentary Debate Association.^[7] Cruz was also a semi-finalist at the 1995 World Universities Debating Championship.^[8]

Cruz graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, an executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review.^[9]

Legal career[link]

Cruz also served as a law clerk to William Rehnquist, then-Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.^[10] Cruz was the first Hispanic ever to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States.^[11]

Cruz has authored more than eighty briefs before the United States Supreme Court and presented forty-three oral arguments, including nine before the United States Supreme Court.

In the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, Cruz assembled a coalition of thirty-one states in defense of the principle that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.^[12] Cruz also presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to Heller before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In addition to his victory in Heller, Cruz has successfully defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools and the 2003 Texas redistricting plan.^[13]

Cruz also successfully defended, in Medellin v. Texas, the State of Texas against an attempt by the International Court of Justice to re-open the criminal convictions of 51 murderers on death row throughout the United States.^[14]

2012 U.S. Senate election[link]

Cruz speaking to values voters in October 2011.

On January 19, 2011, following an announcement that U.S. Senator Hutchison would not seek reelection, Cruz announced via blogger conference call his candidacy for the position.^[4]

Cruz has been endorsed by David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders,^[15] the Club for Growth, a conservative political action committee,^[16] Erick Erickson, editor of prominent conservative blog RedState,^[17] the FreedomWorks for America super PAC,^[18] Princeton University professor Robert P. George,^[19] nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin,^[20] Former Attorney General Edwin Meese,^[21] Tea Party Express,^[22] Young Conservatives of Texas,^[23] U.S. Senators Jim DeMint,^[24] Mike Lee,^[25] Rand Paul,^[26] and Pat Toomey.^[27] He has also been endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Texas Congressman Ron Paul,^[28] as well as former United States Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum.^[29] Cruz faces opposition from sitting Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst in the Republican senatorial primary.

Personal life[link]

Cruz was born and spent the first four years of his life in Calgary before his parents returned to Houston. His father was jailed and tortured by the Batista regime and fought for Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution ^[30] but "didn't know Castro was a Communist" and later became a staunch critic of Castro when "the rebel leader took control and began seizing private property and suppressing dissent".^[31] He moved to Austin, Texas, in 1957 to study at the University of Texas. He spoke no English and had $100 sewn into his underwear.^[32] The elder Cruz worked his way through school as a dishwasher making 50 cents an hour. Cruz’s mother, who was from Houston, was the first person in her family ever to go to college. She earned a math degree at Rice University in the 1950s, working summers at Foley’s and Shell. "I'm Cuban, Irish, and Italian, and yet somehow I ended up Southern Baptist."^[2]

Cruz and his wife, Heidi Suzanne Cruz, have two daughters, Caroline Camille and Catherine Christiane.

Honors and awards[link]

• "America's Leading Lawyers for Business," Chambers USA (2009 & 2010)
• "50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America," National Law Journal (2008)
• "25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century," Texas Lawyer (2010)
• "20 Young Hispanic Americans on the Rise," Newsweek Magazine (1999)
• Traphagen Distinguished Alumnus, Harvard Law School
• Primary Editor, Harvard Law Review
• Executive Editor, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
• Founding Editor, Harvard Latino Law Review
• John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics, Harvard Law School

See also[link]

	Law portal
	Texas portal

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ted Cruz

• Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate campaign website
• "Cruz Control: A Republican star rises in Texas," National Review, Mark Hemingway, May 4, 2009
• Ted Cruz’s Morgan Lewis law firm bio
• "Ted Cruz, hatching a site, expects Abbott to run for a different office," Austin American-Statesman, W. Gardner Selby, March 4, 2009
• "Justices listen to a key voice," The National Law Journal (cover story), Marcia Coyle, April 7, 2008
• Announcement of Ted Cruz's departure as Solicitor General
• "In state politics, his star is rising," Austin American-Statesman (front page story), Mark Lisheron, January 15, 2006
• Debating the Supreme Court's Heller decision with the DC Attorney General on News Hour with Jim Lehrer (video)
• "A Day in the life of... Ted Cruz," Texas Bar Journal, Kim Davey, Vol. 69, No. 7

Colonel Lindsey Graham
United States Senator from South Carolina
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003 Serving with Jim DeMint
Preceded by	Strom Thurmond
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Butler Derrick
Succeeded by	J. Gresham Barrett
Personal details
Born	Lindsey Olin Graham (1955-07-09) July 9, 1955 (age 56) Central, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Residence	Seneca, South Carolina
Alma mater	University of South Carolina (B.A./J.D.)
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Southern Baptist
Website	www.lgraham.senate.gov
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1982–1988 (active) 1988 – present (reserve)
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles/wars	Gulf War Iraq War War in Afghanistan

Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is the senior United States Senator from South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served as the United States Representative for South Carolina's 3rd congressional district.

Early life, education and career[link]

Graham was born in Central, South Carolina, where his parents, Millie and Florence James Graham, ran a liquor store, the Sanitary Cafe.^[1] After graduating from D. W. Daniel High School, Graham became the first member of his family to attend college and joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. When he was 21 his mother died, and his father died 15 months later. Because his sister was left orphaned, the service allowed Graham to attend University of South Carolina in Columbia so he could be near home and care for his sister, whom he adopted. During his studies, he became a member of the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi.

Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Psychology in 1977 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law with a J.D. in 1981. Upon graduating, Graham was commissioned as an officer and judge advocate in the United States Air Force, placed on active duty and sent to Europe as a military prosecutor. He eventually entered private practice as a lawyer.

Military service[link]

Graham decided to join the United States Air Force in 1982, and served on active duty until 1988. Following his departure he stayed in the military, joining the South Carolina Air National Guard^[2] and the U.S. Air Force Reserve. During the Gulf War, he was recalled to active duty, serving as a Judge Advocate at McEntire Air National Guard Station in Eastover, South Carolina, where he helped brief departing pilots on the laws of war.^[3] He later transferred from the Air National Guard to the Air Force Reserve.

In 2004, Graham received a promotion to Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve at a White House ceremony officiated by President George W. Bush.

Graham served in Iraq as a reservist on active duty for short periods during April and two weeks in August 2007, where he worked on detainee and rule-of-law issues.^[4] He also served in Afghanistan during the August 2009 Senate recess.^[5]

Through 2010, Graham served as a senior instructor for the Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Air Force.^[6]

South Carolina House of Representatives[link]

In 1992, Graham was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from a district in Oconee County, and served one term.

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Committee assignments[link]

During his service in the House, Graham served on the following committees:

• Committee on International Relations, 1995–1998
• Committee on Education and the Workforce, 1995–2002
• Committee on the Judiciary, 1997–2002
• Committee on Armed Services, 1999–2002

In Congress, Graham became a member of the Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998. Graham opposed some articles, but vigorously supported others. In January and February 1999, after two impeachment articles had been passed by the full House, he was one of the managers who brought the House's case to Clinton's trial in the Senate which did not convict Clinton.^[7]

U.S. Senate[link]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Personnel (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery (Ranking Member)
  • Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
  • Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
• Special Committee on Aging

Previous assignments[link]

• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, 2003–2005
• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, 2007–2009
• Select Committee on Intelligence, 2007–2009

Caucus memberships[link]

• International Conservation Caucus
• Senate National Guard Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Senate Oceans Caucus

Graham is a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.^[8]

Alito confirmation hearings[link]

During the Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings for the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court, a question arose concerning Alito's membership in a Princeton University organization which some said was sexist and racist.^[9][9][10] Alito "deplored" racist comments made by the organization's founder.^[11] While Graham said that Alito may be saying this because he wanted the nomination, he concluded that he had no reason to believe that because "you seem to be a decent, honorable man."^[11] Alito's wife and sister characterized Graham's statements as supportive.^[12][13]

Political positions[link]

Though Graham's stances are often politically conservative,^[14] he has gained a reputation for sometimes speaking out against or criticizing the party line, as well as being open to making economic decisions, such as was demonstrated with his support for bank bailouts.^[15] Graham notably supported John McCain's presidential bid in 2000, and served as national co-chairman of McCain's 2008 presidential bid.

Free speech[link]

During an appearance on Face the Nation on April 3, 2011,^[16] Graham "suggested that Congress take unspecified though formal action against the Koran-burning by Florida preacher Terry Jones," in light of an attack on United Nations personnel triggered by Jones' actions.^[17] In asserting that "Congress might need to explore the need to limit some forms of freedom of speech,"^[18] Graham argued that "Free speech is a great idea, but we’re in a war," and claimed that "during World War II, we had limits on what you could say if it would inspire the enemy."^[17][19]

Gang of 14[link]

On May 23, 2005, Graham was one of the Gang of 14 senators to forge a compromise that brought a halt to the continued blockage of an up or down vote on judicial nominees. This compromise negated both the Democrats' use of a filibuster and the Republican "nuclear option" as described in the media. Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and three conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate.

Detainee interrogations[link]

In July 2005, Graham secured the declassification and release of memoranda outlining concerns made by senior military lawyers as early as 2003 about the legality of the interrogations of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay.^[20]

In response to this and a June 2004 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing detainees to file habeas corpus petitions to challenge their detentions, Graham authored an amendment^[21] to a Department of Defense Authorization Act attempting to clarify the authority of American courts which passed in November 2005 by a vote of 49–42 in the Senate despite opposition from human rights groups and legal scholars because of the lack of rights it provides detainees.^[22][23]

Graham has said he amended the Department of Defense Authorization Act in order to give military lawyers, as opposed to politically appointed lawyers, a more independent role in the oversight of military commanders. He has argued that two of the largest problems leading to the detainee abuse scandals at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were this lack of oversight and troops' confusion over legal boundaries.^[24]

Graham further explains that military lawyers had long observed the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Convention, but that those provisions had not been considered by the Bush administration in decisions regarding the treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay. He has claimed that better legal oversight within the military’s chain of command will prevent future detainee abuse.^[25]

The Graham amendment was itself amended by Democratic Senator Carl Levin so that it would not strip the courts of their jurisdiction in cases like Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that had already been granted cert; this compromise version passed by a vote of 84–14, though it did little to satisfy many critics of the original language. The Graham-Levin amendment, combined with Republican Senator John McCain's amendment banning torture, became known as the Detainee Treatment Act and attempted to limit interrogation techniques to those in the U.S. Army Field Manual of Interrogation. Verbal statements by Senators at the time of the amendment's passage indicated that Congress believed that Levin's changes would protect the courts' jurisdiction over cases like Hamdan, though Levin and his cosponsor Kyl placed in the Congressional Record a statement indicating that there would be no change.

In February 2006, Graham joined Senator Jon Kyl in filing an amicus brief in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case that argued "Congress was aware" that the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 would strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction to hear "pending cases, including this case" brought by the Guantanamo detainees.^[27]

In a May 2009 CNN interview, Graham referred to the domestic internment of German and Japanese prisoners of war and US Citizens as a model for domestic detention of Guantanamo detainees by saying, "We had 450,000 Japanese and German prisoners housed in the United States during World War II. As a nation, we can deal with this."^[28]

Immigration reform[link]

Graham was a supporter of "comprehensive immigration reform" and of S. 2611, the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill of 2006 as well as S. 1348 of 2007, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007. His positions on immigration, and in particular collaborating with Senator Ted Kennedy, earned Graham the ire of conservative activists.^[29] In a synergy that would boost the US economy, Graham once said that illegal aliens were needed to provide cheap labor for golf courses.^[30] The controversy prompted conservative activists to support a primary challenge in 2008 by longtime Republican national committeeman Buddy Witherspoon,^[31][32] but Graham won the nomination by a large margin.^[33]　

In July 2010, however, Graham suggested that U.S. citizenship as an automatic birthright guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution should be amended, and that any child born of illegal immigrants inside the borders of the United States should themselves be considered illegal immigrants.^[34] "Half the children born in hospitals on our borders are the children of illegal immigrants," pointed out Graham.^[35]

Second Amendment[link]

Graham has been given an A rating by the NRA and a B rating by the Gun Owners of America.^[36]

Health care[link]

Graham opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,^[37] and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.^[38]

Graham is a cosponsor of the Healthy Americans Act.

Same-sex marriage[link]

As a member of the House of Representatives, in 1996 Graham voted for the Defense of Marriage Act.^[39] As a Senator, in 2004 he voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment.^[40] He received a rating of 0% from the Human Rights Campaign, a lobby group which promotes LGBT rights in the United States, in each reporting period from 1995–2008, with the exception of 1999, when he received a rating of 9%.^[41]

Climate change[link]

On December 10, 2009, Graham co-sponsored a letter to President Barack Obama along with Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman announcing their commitment to passing a climate change bill and outlining its framework.^[42] Graham has been identified as a leading supporter of passing a climate change bill and was thought to be a likely sponsor for the final bill. The Senators have identified a green economy, clean air, energy independence, consumer protection, increasing nuclear power and regulating the world's carbon market as the key features to a successful climate change bill.^[43] In response to Senate Democrats shifting their priorities to immigration issues, a reaction to Arizona's passage of an anti-undocumented immigrant law, Senator Graham withdrew his support for the climate bill, leaving its passage in doubt.^[44]

In June 2010, however, Graham told reporters that "The science about global warming has changed. I think they've oversold this stuff, quite frankly. I think they've been alarmist and the science is in question. The whole movement has taken a giant step backward."^[45][46] He also stated that he planned to vote against the climate bill that he had originally co-sponsored, citing further restriction of offshore drilling added to the bill and the bill's impact on transportation.^[46][47]

Foreign policy[link]

Graham has supported an interventionist foreign policy. On November 6, 2010, at the Halifax International Security Forum, he called for a pre-emptive military strike to "neuter" the Iranian regime.^[48] He has also argued that "the U.S. needs to keep at least 10,000 troops in Iraq into 2012," saying that "If we're not smart enough to work with the Iraqis to have 10,000 to 15,000 American troops in Iraq in 2012, Iraq could go to hell."^[49]

In August 2011, Graham co-sponsored with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Senate Resolution 175, wherewith he contended that "Russia's invasion of Georgian land in 2008 was an act of aggression, not only to Georgia but to all new democracies." The claim that Russia instigated the aggression in South Ossetia, however, has been contradicted by many observers, including a European Union investigation. The resolution passed unanimously.

He is an advisor to the Atlantic Bridge.

Taxation[link]

Graham believes that "There are ways to raise revenue without raising taxes".^[50]

Political campaigns[link]

In 1994, Graham was elected to the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina's 3rd congressional district in the northwestern part of the state after 20-year incumbent Butler Derrick retired. With U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond campaigning on his behalf, Graham won by a large margin, becoming the first Republican to represent this district since 1877. The margin came as something of a surprise; none of the 3rd's living residents had ever been represented by a Republican before. In his first reelection bid, in 1996, Debbie Dorn, daughter of longtime 3rd District congressman W.J. Bryan Dorn and Derrick's niece, challenged Graham. However, Graham turned back this challenge fairly easily, winning by almost 20 points. He was unopposed for reelection in 1998 and handily defeated an underfunded Democrat in 2000.

In 2002, upon Thurmond's retirement, Graham defeated his Democratic opponent, Alex Sanders, the former president of the College of Charleston. Graham became South Carolina's first new Senator since 1965, and the state's first freshman Republican Senator since Reconstruction when sanctions were imposed on South Carolina by Radical Republicans. Graham served as Junior Senator for only two years, serving with U.S. Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings. Graham became Senior Senator in 2005 when Jim DeMint won election to Hollings's seat. In 2008, Graham was easily reelected against North Myrtle Beach native Bob Conley.^[51]

Electoral history[link]

Personal life[link]

Graham has never been married and, when questioned by Robert Draper of the New York Times, said, "I know it's really going to upset a lot of gay men—I'm sure hundreds of them are going to be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge—but I ain't available; I ain't gay. Sorry."^[53]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lindsey Graham

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lindsey Graham

• United States Senator Lindsey Graham official U.S. Senate site
• Lindsey Graham for U.S. Senate official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile from the Senate Republican Caucus
• Profile at SourceWatch
• "Swing Conservative: The perilous bipartisanship of Lindsey Graham." Washington Monthly, April 2005
• "The American Ghosts of Abu Ghraib", Sam Provance, Consortium News, March 27.2007