By Daniel Jackson
Thomas Griffith, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will discuss Jesus Christ and the Atonement in tuesdays Devotional address, March 14, 2006, entitled 'The Very Root of Christian Doctrine.'
Griffith, who was BYU''s General Counsel prior to his appointment to the appeals court, also served as the Senate Legal Counsel between 1995 and 1999. In that role, Griffith represented the Senate, its committees, members and employees in cases involving the Senate''s constitutional powers and privileges. In that role, he represented the Senate during the battle over Line Item Veto legislation that led to two important Supreme Court decisions.
In his role as Senate Legal Counsel, he was also involved in the impeachment trial of former president Bill Clinton as well as Senate investigations of Whitewater, campaign finance and China technology transfer matters.
Griffith graduated from BYU in 1978 and received his juris doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1985. He edited the University of Virginia''s law review while he was a student there.