Greg Abbott

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Gregory W. Abbott
Greg Abbott in front of the Ten Commandments display he argued for in front of the U.S. Supreme Court
Texas Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 2, 2002
Preceded by	John Cornyn
Born	November 13, 1957 Wichita Falls, Texas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Cecilia P. Abbott
Children	Audrey

Gregory W. "Greg" Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is the attorney general of Texas, only the second Republican since Reconstruction to serve in that role. Abbott was sworn in on December 2, 2002, following John Cornyn's election to the U.S. Senate. Prior to assuming the office of attorney general, Abbott was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, a position to which he was initially appointed in 1995 by then-Governor George W. Bush.

Personal history

Abbott was born ^[1] in Wichita Falls and was reared in Duncanville (Dallas County). He and his wife, Cecilia P. Abbott, a former school teacher and principal, were married in 1982. They have a daughter named Audrey (born 1997).^[2]

After his graduation from the University of Texas in Austin, with a B.B.A. in finance, he received his law degree from the Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.

Shortly after graduation, he was partially paralyzed in a freak accident when, while jogging in Houston, he was struck by a falling tree. He has used a wheelchair since the accident. The Houston Chronicle reported in April 2002 that Abbott hired a prominent plaintiff’s lawyer, Don Riddle, after the accident.^{[citation needed]}Abbott sued both the homeowner whose tree fell on him as well as a company that once trimmed the tree. In October 2002, the Austin American-Statesman reported that Abbott already has received almost $3 million of an award that is expected to exceed $10 million in his lifetime. Abbott’s attorney in the case, Riddle (who made more than $1 million off the case), says that medical costs and other "actual damages" accounted for a fraction of the settlement, which mainly compensates Abbott for non-economic damages, such as mental anguish.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

Abbott’s political career began in Houston, where he served as a state trial judge in the 129th District Court for three years. Bush appointed Abbott to the Texas Supreme Court, and he was then twice elected to the state’s highest civil court—in 1996 (two-year term) and 1998 (six-year term). In 1996, Abbott had no Democratic opponent but was challenged by Libertarian John B. Hawley of Dallas. Abbott obtained 3,201,185 votes (84.1 percent) to Hawley's 604,984 (15.85 percent). In 1998, Abbott defeated Democrat David Van Os of San Antonio, 2,104,828 (60.1 percent) to 1,396,924 (39.89 percent) to win a full term on the Supreme Court. However, he served just over half of the term.

As a judge he received awards including: "Jurist of the Year" from the Texas Review of Law & Politics; "Trial Judge of the Year" from the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists; and "Appellate Judge of the Year" from the Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates^{[citation needed]}

Election as attorney general, 2002

Abbott resigned from the Supreme Court in 2001 to seek the open attorney general's position in 2002. The previous Attorney General John Cornyn vacated the post to run for the U.S. Senate. Abbott defeated the Democratic nominee, former Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, for the position. He received 2,542,184 votes (56.72 percent) to Watson's 1,841,359 (41.08 percent). Two minor candidates held an additional 2.18 percent of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

Lawsuit against Sony BMG

On November 21, 2005, Abbott sued Sony BMG. Texas is the first state in the nation to bring legal action against Sony BMG for illegal “spyware.” The suit is also the first filed under the state’s spyware law of 2005. It alleges the company surreptitiously installed the spyware on millions of compact music discs (CDs) that consumers inserted into their computers when they play the CDs, which can compromise the systems.^[3]. On December 21, 2005 Abbott added new allegations to his lawsuit against Sony-BMG. Abbott says the MediaMax copy protection technology violates the state's spyware and deceptive trade practices laws. He says Sony-BMG offered consumers a licensing agreement when they bought CDs and played them on their computers. But, Abbott alleges in the lawsuit that even if consumers reject that agreement, files—known as spyware—are secretly installed on their computers, which pose security risks for music buyers. Abbott said "We keep discovering additional methods Sony used to deceive Texas consumers who thought they were simply buying music", and "Thousands of Texans are now potential victims of this deceptive game Sony played with consumers for its own purposes." In addition to violations of the Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act of 2005, which allows for civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law, the alleged violations added in the updated lawsuit, on December 21, 2005, carry maximum penalties of $20,000 per violation.^[4]. See 2005 Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal.

Van Orden v. Perry

On March 2, 2005, Abbott appeared before the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., where he defended a Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds. Dozens of similar monuments were donated to cities and towns across the nation as part of a promotion for Cecil B. DeMille's epic movie The Ten Commandments.^{[citation needed]} The Supreme Court held in a 5-4 plurality decision, found the Texas display did not violate the Establishment Clause and was constitutional.

Hailing the Supreme Court's decision, Abbott said: "This is a great victory not just for Texans, but for all Americans. With this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a clear message that the Texas Ten Commandments can be displayed on public grounds in recognition of the historical role they have played in the foundation of this country and its laws." The Ten Commandments monument still stands just to the northwest of the Capitol in Austin.

Reelection as attorney general

Abbott was unopposed for renomination as attorney general in the March 7, 2006, Republican primary. In the November 7, general election, Abbott easily defeated civil rights attorney and self-styled "people's" Democrat David Van Os, who had been his Democratic opponent in the 1998 election for state Supreme Court. Abbott polled 2,556,063 (59.5 percent) to Van Os's 1,599,069 (37.3 percent). Libertarian Jon Roland received another 139,525 votes (3.3 percent).

Election history

Most recent election

2006

Previous elections

2002

1998

Sources

• Official biography
• Supreme Court on a Shoestring, The Washington Post, February 21, 2005
• http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=1121
• http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0628/p01s03-usju.html

References

External links

• Office of the Attorney General of Texas
• Attorney General Abbott's personal website