Stanley
Stanley v. Gonzales
Opinion
Opinion
BACKGROUND
In 1994, Linda Ekstrom Stanley was appointed as a United States Trustee for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Cali- fornia and the District of Nevada. Two years later, Attorney General Janet Reno reclassified the United States Trustee position as one of a “confidential, policy-determining, policy- making, or policy-advocating character.” The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-454, 92 Stat. 1111 (codi- fied in scattered sections of 5 U.S.C.), exempts federal confi- dential employees from administrative review of adverse employment decisions. Thus, the reclassification exempted Trustees from the protections of the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”), the primary vehicle for resolution of dis- putes under the CSRA. In 1999, Attorney General Reno reap- pointed Stanley to serve a second five-year term. Attorney General John Ashcroft removed Stanley as United States Trustee in 2002, before her second five-year term expired. He removed her due “to a change in Presidential administration” and pursuant to his power under 28 U.S.C. § 581(c), which provides that “[e]ach United States trustee is subject to removal by the Attorney General.”