right to terminate his wife's life support. Perrelli was previously an associate at Jenner & Block from 1992 to 1997. Clinton administration In 1997, Perrelli left Jenner & Block to join the Department of Justice and served as counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno. He subsequently rose to Deputy Assistant Attorney General, supervising the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, which represents virtually every federal agency in complex civil litigation. In that role, Perrelli led a staff of 100 attorneys charged with defending the constitutionality of federal statutes, defending federal agency action and regulations, representing the diplomatic and national security interests of the United States in courts of law, and conducting significant Title VII, personnel and social security litigation. Perrelli also supervised the Justice Department's Tobacco Litigation Team in its litigation against the major cigarette manufacturers. In addition, he played a leading role on significant policy issues ranging from medical records privacy and the use of adjusted figures in the census to Indian gaming and legal ethics. Obama administration On January 5, 2009, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Perrelli as the 18th Associate Attorney General of the United States. He was confirmed by the United States Senate in a 72-20 vote on March 12, 2009. Perrelli ordered career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division to drop a civil case they had prepared (under the 1965 Voting Rights Act) against members of the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation at Philadelphia polling places in the United States elections, 2008. In February 2012, Perrelli resigned from his post as Associate Attorney General. Bibliography "Defending Lanham Act Claims Against Expressive Works and Raising a Defense Based on the First Amendment," Media Law Resource Bulletin, January 2004 "Piracy Battles Online," Copyright World, February 2003 Deanne Maynard and Tom Perrelli, "9th Circuit Denies Dustin Hoffman's Publicity Claim," National Law Journal, C4, October 22, 2001 Case Note, "Search and Seizure -- Suspicionless Drug Testing," 103 Harvard Law Review 592, 1989 Case Comment, "Section 1983: Golden State Transit Corp. v. Los Angeles," 104 Harvard Law Review 339, 1990 References External links NJCL Certamen Hall of Fame 1966 births Brown University alumni Clinton administration personnel Harvard Law School alumni Living people Obama administration personnel People associated with Jenner & Block People from Falls Church, Virginia United States Associate Attorneys General Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School alumni