Patrick Morrisey

Patrick Morrisey
File:General Morrisey Headshot.jpg Morrisey in 2015
34th Attorney General of West Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2013
Governor	Earl Ray Tomblin
Preceded by	Darrell McGraw
Personal details
Born	Patrick James Morrisey (1967-12-21) December 21, 1967 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Rutgers University, New Brunswick Rutgers University, Newark
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Patrick James Morrisey (born December 21, 1967) is the Attorney General of West Virginia. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Morrisey grew up in Edison, New Jersey. His father was account manager at U.S. Steel, while his mother worked as a registered nurse. Morrisey ran cross-country and played on his high school's tennis team, before he graduated from Bishop George Ahr High School in 1985.

Morrisey graduated from Rutgers College with a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science in 1989. He also attended Rutgers School of Law–Newark, receiving his juris doctor in 1992.

Career

After graduating from Rutgers, Morrisey opened a private law firm in 1992. He practiced health care, election, regulatory and communications law at the lobbying group Arent Fox, from 1995 to 1999. Morrisey served as deputy staff director and chief health counsel for the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce from 1999 to 2004, where he worked on the passage of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act and the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (establishing Medicare Part D). He ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in New Jersey's 7th congressional district in 2000, receiving 9% of the vote in the Republican primary. He worked for Sidley Austin before he joined King & Spalding in 2010, becoming a partner.

In 2012, Morrisey ran for Attorney General of West Virginia against Darrell McGraw, a five-term incumbent. He defeated McGraw and was sworn in on January 14, 2013, making him the first Republican state Attorney General since 1933.

Recently questions have arisen about Morrisey's ties to Cardinal Health, his campaign funds and the lawsuit his predecessor filed against Cardinal Health. After his claim of recusing himself from the suit he met privately on several occasions with representatives of Cardinal Health.

In August 2014, Morrisey filed a lawsuit, along with 11 other states, challenging the EPA's proposal to regulate coal-fired power plants as part of President Barack Obama's plan to mitigate climate change.

Federal lawsuits

Legal strategy

Morrisey says that the West Virginia Attorney General's Office has "worked to fight federal overreach by filing amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court on a number of issues, ranging from protecting the Second Amendment to defending state jobs and our valuable energy resources." He has said that he did not expect to win many court cases and his "goal for the Obama agenda" was to "gum up the courts enough over the course of the next four years to be able to slow down the Obama administration on these regulations" and "that is going to be the best we can do." He said his plan was "limit the damage that the Obama administration can inflict on our citizens" and "make it as hard as possible for the administration to finalize invalid rules."

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

On July 29, 2014, State of West Virginia v United States HHS, et al. (1:14-cv-01287-RBW) was filed which challenges regulatory changes, described by the administration as an 'administrative fix', to the PPACA's implementation. The temporary fix allows insurance companies through October 2016 to renew health insurance policies that don’t meet ACA’s standards — as long as state insurance officials OK the extension. Defendant (HHS) has submitted a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, and the plaintiff has filed an opposition to the motion.

Environmental Protection Agency

Morrisey's office has filed many amicus briefs in lawsuits challenging the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with little success.

American Farm Bureau v. EPA. On September 13, 2013, in American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said that the EPA had the authority under the Clean Water Act to impose a total maximum daily load standard for pollutants and that the procedures established were consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act. This is contrary to the argument by Morrisey's amicus brief which said that the "EPA's overreach in the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TDML) infringes states' traditional rights the Clean Water Act intended to protect."

Mingo Logan Coal v. EPA. On March 24, 2014, in Mingo Logan Coal Company v. EPA, the Supreme Court of the United States dismissed the case without comment finding that the appeal had no merit. The Court rejected the argument in Morrisey's brief which said that the "EPA unlawfully vetoed permits issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers."

White Stallion v. EPA. On April 15, 2014, in White Stallion Energy Center v. EPA, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that the EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) rule regulation of emissions from coal-fired electric generating units was appropriate and necessary and that the EPA acted within its legal authority and demonstrated a reasonable connection between its action and the record of decision. The Court rejected the argument in Morrisey's brief which said that the "EPA rule usurped the states’ authority by setting minimum substantive requirements for state performance standards."

Homer City v. EPA. On April 29, 2014, in EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, the U.S. Supreme Court said the EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was a cost-effective allocation of emission reductions among upwind States and is a permissible, workable, and equitable interpretation of the Good Neighbor Provision. The Court rejected the argument in Morrisey's brief which claimed that the "EPA exceeded its authority under the federal Clean Air Act when it promulgated the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule".

Utility Air v. EPA. On June 23, 2014, in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the EPA reasonably interpreted the Act to require sources that would need permits based on their emission of conventional pollutants to comply with Best Available Control Technology (BACT) for greenhouse gases and that EPA’s decision to require BACT for greenhouse gases emitted by sources otherwise subject to Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) review is, as a general matter, a permissible interpretation of the statute. The Court rejected the argument in Morrisey's brief which said that the "EPA violated the U.S. Constitution and the Clean Air Act by concocting greenhouse gas regulations" and that court needed to "rein in a usurpatious agency and remind the President and his subordinates that they cannot rule by executive decree."

Murray Energy v. EPA. On June 25, 2014, Morrisey and other attorneys general submitted an amicus brief in Murray Energy v. EPA before the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit This lawsuit was prematurely filed before EPA has issued the final standards, which are not due until June 1, 2015. The D.C. Circuit has already ruled less than two years earlier in December 2012 on this issue in Las Brisas Energy Center v. EPA. The court dismissed the case with a single short sentence: "The challenged proposed rule is not final agency action subject to judicial review."

National Mining v. EPA. On July 11, 2014, in National Mining Association vs EPA, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that the EPA and the U.S. Corps of Engineers had the statutory authority under the Clean Water Act to enact a procedure rule (Enhanced Coordination Process memorandum) to review mountaintop mining permits. The Court rejected the argument in Morrisey's brief which claimed that the "EPA was attempting to take for itself responsibilities reserved to the states and other federal agencies."

West Virginia et al. v. EPA. On July 31, 2014, Morrisey and attorneys general from other states filed a lawsuit West Virginia et al. v. EPA in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging a court ordered settlement over three years earlier on March 2, 2011 between the EPA and 11 states - New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia. In this settlement, EPA promised to issue its now-pending rule establishing standards of performance for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Electric Utility Steam Generating Units (EGUs). A settlement was reach based on guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 where the Supreme Court held that carbon dioxide is an air pollutant subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. The attorneys general's lawsuit is over three years late. The EPA published the proposed settlement in December 2010, and Section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act allows a 30-day period to challenge any requirements of the Clean Air Act.

Second Amendment

Morrisey has filed several amicus briefs in lawsuits challenging Second Amendment decisions with little success.

Kachalsky v. Cacace. On April 15, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in Kachalsky v. Cacace which challenged a New York law that requires a person to show a particular need to obtain a permit to carry a firearm outside the home. Morrisey and attorneys general from other states had submitted a brief challenging the lower court decision saying that the law "does not survive any level of scrutiny".

Drake v. Jerejian. On May 5, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in Drake v. Jerejian which challenged New Jersey’s requirement that concealed carry permit applicants must demonstrate a “justifiable need” in order to be issued a handgun carry permit. Morrisey and attorneys general from other states had submitted a brief challenging the lower court decision saying that New Jersey's law would "threaten" and "shake the foundation" of less restricting gun permitting schemes in other states."

Abramski v. United States. On June 16. 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court in Abramski v. United States of America said that "regardless whether the actual buyer could have purchased the gun, a person who buys a gun on someone else’s behalf while falsely claiming that it is for himself makes a material misrepresentation punishable" under the law. This is contrary to the claim made by Morrisey that the "Department of Justice wants to ensnare innocent West Virginian gun owners in a web of criminal laws if they try to sell their guns" and that "the administration’s interpretation oversteps the law and could make criminals out of innocent citizens."

Personal

Morrisey moved to West Virginia in 2006. He lives in Jefferson County with his wife and his stepdaughter.

References

Legal offices
Preceded by Darrell McGraw	Attorney General of West Virginia 2013–present	Incumbent