The 2020 Syracuse Law Honors Awards Recipients at the Syracuse University College of Law include NAFUSA member Professor Emeritus Thomas J. Maroney L’63. Here is the announcement from Syracuse Law:

 

 

 

Thomas J. Maroney is a Professor of Law Emeritus (2011). He is a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University (B.A., 1961) and the College of Law (LL.B., 1963) and a member of the honor societies Phi Kappa Phi, the Order of the Coif, and the Justinian Society.

 

Maroney’s interest in history and government led him to major in political science in college, concentrate on public law courses in law school, and pursue a a career teaching and writing about public law, emphasizing Constitutional law and the related subjects of federal jurisdiction, federal criminal law, civil rights, and Constitutional criminal procedure. Among his activities in law school, Maroney was student Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Survey of New York Law and a Notes Editor for the Syracuse Law Review.

 

After a research fellowship at Michigan Law and practicing law with White and Case in New York City, Maroney returned to his alma mater to teach, beginning in the 1967-1968 school year (one of his students in the legislation course was a young man named Joseph R. Biden Jr. L’68). Maroney also has been a visiting professor at the Cornell and Colorado law schools, and a lecturer at the US Naval War College. Maroney is a member of the New York Bar and is admitted to practice before the US Supreme Court and the state and federal trial and appellate courts in the State of New York .

 

Maroney has been the Assistant New York State Attorney General in Charge of the Syracuse Regional Office (1979-1981) and the US Attorney for the 32-county Northern District of New York (1994-1999). In 1983 he ran unsuccessfully for Onondaga County District Attorney, losing to the incumbent by 622 votes out of 134,000 votes cast. Maroney has long been a Labor Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, the NY Public Employment Relations Board (and by direct appointment of numerous parties), and he has taught Alternative Dispute Resolution and Negotiation at the College of Law.

 

Maroney also has been active in our community as a volunteer attorney for and President of the local ACLU chapter; a 15-year member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary serving as Commander of Flotilla 2-1, Phoenix, NY, and Division Operations Officer, Division II, 9th District, Eastern Region; and a member of and Fire Police Officer for the Fayetteville Fire Department.

 

Maroney is married to Dr. Mary Katharine Maroney G’92, a Distinguished Emerita Professor and Director of Nursing at Utica College. He and Dr. Maroney, their children and their siblings hold a total of 14 degrees from Syracuse University. GO ORANGE!

On June 26, 2020, the Nashville Business Journal announced their Best of the Bar awards, as selected by their peers. NAFUSA Past President and Life Member Hal Hardin received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Click here to read the interview with Hal in the Nashville Business Journal:

Hardin lifetime achievement article

A strictly divided by party United States Senate voted today to confirm NAFUSA life member Representative John Ratcliffe of Texas to become the next director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas 2007-2009. He had served as the first assistant to NAFUSA Past-President Matt Orwig, and succeeded Orwig when the latter returned to private practice. He is shown below meeting with the NAFUSA Liaison Committee in Washington on June 25, 2019.

On the Speaker’s Balcony at the Capitol overlooking the Mall with Congressman and NAFUSA Life Member John Radcliffe

The Congressional panel tasked with overseeing at least $2.8 trillion in COVID-19 economic rescue spending has tapped as a top adviser NAFUSA member David Hickton, a University of Pittsburgh policy researcher and former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Hickton, the founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Cyber Law, Policy and Security, is taking a leave of absence from the school to serve as staff director and senior counsel to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Hickton will advise the Democratically-led panel, chaired by Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as it examines how federal dollars flow from the Trump administration to families, businesses, health care institutions and the broader economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have watched and admired the principled leadership of Chairman Clyburn for many years,” Hickton said. “When he offered me the opportunity to help do this important work for the American people, I could not say no.”

Hickton arrives just as the subcommittee — a panel under the auspices of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform — begins to ramp up its efforts about three weeks after it was established.

The resolution formally establishing the subcommittee passed on April 23 by a vote of 212-182 along party lines, with Rep. Justin Amash, I-Mich., voting with Republicans in opposition.

That vote occurred the same day lawmakers approved another $310 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses and has been rife with oversight issues. Several large, publicly traded companies were approved for the small business loans, potentially crowding out mom-and-pop shops.

Last week, the panel’s first official action was to call out five large publicly traded firms, for taking small business loan money. The panel announced one of the five companies, Georgia-based biopharmaceutical firm MiMedx Group, has returned the loan. An aide to the subcommittee said Friday it was “continuing to work with the companies to hear their perspective and review materials.”

 Hickton spent six years as a U.S. attorney, co-chairing a national Heroin Task Force to address the opioid epidemic and bringing an high-profile indictment against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for economic espionage against four Pittsburgh-area companies.

As head of Pitt Cyber, Mr. Hickton has explored subjects like election security and Russian hacking.

Mr. Clyburn, in a statement released by his office, said Hickton’s record as a U.S. attorney “demonstrates some unique abilities to identify and weed out fraud and abuse.” Mr. Hickton will “help protect the extraordinary and unprecedented outlay of taxpayer money as Congress continues to fight this pandemic and its economic consequences.”

Mr. Hickton’s role will be to oversee the professional staff and operations, an aide to Mr. Clyburn said.

Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher praised Mr. Hickton as the “consummate public servant” with an “unyielding commitment to integrity, collaboration and ingenuity.”

On February 20, 2020, NAFUSA member and former Georgia State Senator and federal prosecutor Ed Tarver announced he was running for the United States Senate from the State of Georgia. Tarver is running for the seat that was vacated by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson.

“Georgia needs experienced, committed leadership in the United States Senate,” said Tarver. “As a Captain in the United States Army, I embraced the values of hard work and public service. That led me to serve my state as a senator and my country as a federal prosecutor appointed by President Barack Obama. In the Army, we were never asked if we were Conservatives or Liberals. It was about serving one nation.

“Today, Washington is broken. Too much emphasis is placed on one side winning and another side losing. Our values are under assault by those individuals who are willing to sacrifice the future of our nation for personal gain. I’m running for the U.S. Senate to restore decency to Washington, bring real leadership, and fight for our Georgia values – bipartisan criminal justice reform, fiscal responsibility, and access to quality health care. We can do so much better than we’re doing today. I’ve been fighting for Georgia for more than 20 years, and I am ready to keep that fight going.”

In announcing his candidacy, Tarver released this a 3 minute introductory video that is available by clicking here.

Tarver was born while his father served in the Army to parents who were natives of Blythe, Georgia. He is a graduate of Glenn Hills High and Augusta College (currently Augusta University in Augusta). After serving seven years in the United States Army, earning the rank of Captain, Tarver went on to graduate from the University of Georgia Law School. From 2005 to 2009, he represented August in the Georgia General Assembly before being appointed by President Barack Obama as a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Georgia.

While a federal prosecutor, Tarver aggressively prosecuted sex traffickers and drug dealers. He identified individuals who committed fraud against Georgia taxpayers and returned more than $27 million to Georgians who were victims of a prescription drug scheme. Recognizing the need to reform the nation’s criminal justice system, Tarver worked with community leaders to identify solutions to long term incarceration for non-violent and drug addicted criminals.

In the U.S. Senate, Tarver pledges to fight to provide adequate health care for Georgians, reduce poverty, fight social injustice, and promote bipartisan criminal justice reform. Recognizing that agriculture is the lifeblood of Georgia’s economy, he’ll work to remove barriers for Georgia farmers, while fighting for a cleaner environment.

Peter Vaira

In his May column for The Legal Intellegencer, NAFUSA member Peter Vaira writes about “Changes in the Law Practice After Covid-19…What Will Be the New Normal?” Vaira says,