Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Removal Clarification Act of 2010 is an important piece of legislation that will clarify a Federal agency or officer's ability to remove State judicial proceedings to Federal court. The bill has strong support from both sides of the aisle, and was passed by the House of Representatives without opposition. I have worked with Senator Sessions on an amendment to further clarify the rules governing removal to Federal court of State judicial proceedings when judicial orders including subpoenas are issued to Federal agencies or officials. Existing law allows removal to Federal court of any ``civil action or criminal prosecution'' that is ``commenced in a State court'' against a Federal agency or officer. However, there is a question whether a subpoena directed toward a Federal agency or officer itself constitutes a ``civil action or criminal prosecution'' that allows removal under section 1442. While some courts have allowed removal in these situations, others have not. Compare Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. Williams, 62 F.3d 408, 413-15, D.C. Cir. 1995 with Indiana v. Adams, 892 F.Supp. 1101, S.D. Ind. 1995, Alabama v. Stephens, 876 F.Supp. 263, M.D. Ala. 1995, Price v. Johnson, 600 F.3d 460, 5th Cir. 2010 (dismissing appeal of district court's refusal to allow removal of subpoena proceeding against congresswoman).…”