I am very saddened to hear that James Robinson, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division in the late 1990s, has died of cancer at the all-too-young age of 66.
Robinson was the head of the Criminal Division when I was a brand-new attorney at DOJ. I remember it was a real high-spot of my time at DOJ when he once called me personally to thank me for some work I had done on an important case. I was less than 2 years out of law school at the time, and getting that call from the head of the entire Criminal Division made me feel pretty great. He didn’t need to make that call. Most people in his position wouldn’t.
One very minor bright spot in the sad picture of his early passing is that I happened to be seated at the same table as Robinson just two months ago at the annual ACS Convention. I had the chance to tell him how much I appreciated that call, and I did so. I was surprised by his reaction: He seemed genuinely touched by my recollection. Now that I know he had only two months to live, I know why — and I’m all the more glad I mentioned it to him.