Luttig leaves bench for corporate post

J. Michael Luttig, a judge on the Fourth Circuit Court in Richmond, Va., and one of the brightest conservative stars in the federal judiciary as well as a frequent contender for a Supreme Court nomination, resigned on Wednesday to become general counsel of Boeing Co., the airplane manufacturer. The company announcement of his appointment can be found here.

The company said that Luttig’s letter of resignation was delivered to the White House this morning. The letter can be found here. Luttrig said his resignation was effective immediately. He said that the opportunity to become senior vice president and general counsel of Boeing was “a singular opportunity” that he and his wife Elizabeth could not miss. The change, he told President Bush in his letter,”represents a parting from that which I have held most dear for many years. I believe that service as a federal judge is one of the very highest callings in life.”

To most court observers, Luttig is considered one of the most devoted and most talented conservatives on the federal bench. His service on the Fourth Circuit has been strongly supportive of the Bush Administration in cases arising out fo the war on terrorism, although he did give the Administration a round of harsh criticism for the way it handled the case of “enemy combatant” Jose Padilla. Active in the Federalist Society, Luttig often served as a source of law clerks for Justice Antonin Scalia, whom Luttig once served as a law clerk when Scalia was on the D.C. Circuit Court. Luttig also had been a law clerk to the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.

Luttig, who is 51, was named to the Circuit Court 15 years ago, nominated by the first President Bush. At the time, he was the youngest federal appeals court judge in the nation, the Boeing announcement noted.

He and his family, who now live in McLean, Va., will relocate to Chicago, Boeing said.