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Home > Lawyers
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John P. Elwood
John P. Elwood
Experience | Education | Recognition | Activities | Publications
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Biography
John has considerable experience litigating in the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals, and has substantial expertise on constitutional, criminal, administrative, employment, and environmental issues. Before joining the firm, John served in senior-level positions in the U.S. Department of Justice. As an Assistant to the Solicitor General, he briefed or argued more than a dozen merits cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and briefed scores of cases at the certiorari stage. As the senior Deputy in the Office of Legal Counsel, he advised the White House and senior agency officials on a range of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory matters. John represented the Justice Department as an ex officio member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. John also has argued numerous cases in the federal courts of appeals and tried several criminal cases in federal district court.
John has received both the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service and the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service – the Justice Department's two top awards for lawyers.
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Representative Experience
Cases in the Supreme Court of the United States while an Assistant to the Solicitor General
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Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005). Successfully argued that the holder of a restraining order lacks a procedural due process right to enforce the order
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Yarborough v. Alvarado, 541 U.S. 652 (2004). Successfully argued that courts need not consider a suspect’s age and previous law-enforcement history when determining his entitlement to Miranda warnings
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Central Laborers’ Pension Fund v. Heinz, 541 U.S. 739 (2004). Argued that a pension fund had complied with the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when it temporarily disqualified certain pension holders from receiving benefits
Cases Argued in the Federal Courts of Appeals — Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits
- In the Eighth Circuit, represented a criminal defendant in a collateral attack to his guilty plea, arguing that Congress lacked constitutional authority to prohibit bribery of a local official
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United States v. Perez, 116 F.3d 840 (9th Cir. 1997) (en banc). Successfully argued before the en banc court, as a government attorney, that omission of an element of the offense from the jury instructions did not warrant overturning the conviction
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United States v. Wimberly, 60 F.3d 281 (7th Cir. 1995). Successfully argued, as a government attorney, that evidentiary errors did not warrant overturning the conviction
Federal Criminal Trials
- As co-counsel representing an elected state official charged with fraud
- As co-counsel representing a defense attorney charged with criminal contempt arising out of his conduct during a federal criminal trial
- Obtained conviction, as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, in a case involving a complex credit-card fraud scheme
Other Noteworthy Litigation
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In re Search of Rayburn House Office Building No. 2113, 434 F. Supp. 2d 3 (D.D.C. 2006). Principal author of briefs successfully defending the search of the Capitol Hill office of then-United States Representative William Jefferson against a motion to suppress evidence under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause
Additional Professional Experience
- Testified before Congress three times on constitutional and statutory issues
- Taught course entitled “Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court” at the George Washington University School of Law, Washington, D.C. (2001)
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Education and Professional Background
- Yale Law School, J.D., 1993 (Senior Editor, Yale Law Journal)
- King’s College, M.A. with distinction, first in class, 1990
- Princeton University, A.B. summa cum laude, 1989 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington D.C., Deputy Assistant Attorney General, 2005 - 2009
- Office of the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., Assistant to the Solicitor General, 2002 - 2005
- Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General; represented the Department as an ex officio member of the United States Sentencing Commission, and as a member of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 2001 - 2002
- Appellate Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney, 1994 - 1996; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1995
- Law clerk to Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Supreme Court of the United States, 1996 - 1997; law clerk to Judge J. Daniel Mahoney, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1993 - 1994
- Admitted to practice: Georgia, 1994; District of Columbia, 1996; Supreme Court of the United States; United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits; U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Professional Recognition
- Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, 2005
- Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, 2002
Activities and Affiliations
- Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court; Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court
Publications and Presentations
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What Were They Thinking: The Supreme Court in Revue, 12 Green Bag 2d 429 (2009) (October Term 2008); 4 Green Bag 2d 365 (2001) (October Term 2000); 4 Green Bag 2d 27 (2000) (October Term 1999)
- “The Supreme Court’s Business” (preview of Supreme Court’s October Term 2009), American Enterprise Institute, October 2009
- “Supreme Court Preview, October Term 2005,” Stanford Law School, November 2005
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Full Biography
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The Willard Office Building
1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004-1008
Tel +1.202.639.6518
Fax +1.202.879.8917
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