After his time in the Army, Sullivan graduated from
Georgetown University Law Center with a
Juris Doctor in 1971. under the supervision of Professor
Charles Alan Wright, who, at that time, was widely considered to be the foremost authority on
constitutional law and practice.
U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney (1974–1982) After
President Nixon lost his
U.S. Supreme Court case and resigned on August 9, 1974, Sullivan left the White House and joined the
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to litigate civil cases. In addition, Sullivan volunteered to be a federal prosecutor to gain experience in federal criminal jury trials. As a prosecutor, he participated as co-counsel and obtained convictions in felony drug and gun cases in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
General counsel of National Reconnaissance Office In 1982, shortly after Sullivan became the deputy general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force, he was approached to become the general counsel of the
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). At the time, the NRO was the covert spy satellite agency of the United States. Sullivan accepted the position concurrent with his legal duties in the Air Force. His status as the NRO general counsel was not known by the Air Force leadership nor even his wife until the existence of NRO was declassified by President
Bill Clinton on September 18, 1992. As the NRO general counsel, Sullivan's duties primarily consisted of legal oversight over contracts with cover companies and security issues to protect the secret status of NRO operations. In his duties, Sullivan had numerous contacts with
Stanley Sporkin, the
CIA general counsel. Sporkin and Sullivan were both later appointed federal judges by President
Ronald Reagan. One of the significant actions during Sullivan's tenure as NRO general counsel was when he was consulted on the decision of the NRO Director
Edward "Pete" Aldridge to continue the production line of the
Titan rocket to launch U.S. military satellites instead of using the Space Shuttle as the sole launch vehicle for the United States. Aldridge's decision was made in 1985. The following year, the
Space Shuttle Challenger exploded during launch, and Space Shuttle operations were grounded for almost two years. The NRO decision allowed the U.S. military to have access to space during the Shuttle's shutdown.
14th general counsel of the U.S. Air Force In February 1984, Sullivan was appointed as general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Air Force. As general counsel, Sullivan served as the final legal authority in the U.S. Air Force, the chief ethics officer, and the senior attorney of the approximately 1700 civilian and military attorneys in the Air Force. One of the highlights of his Air Force career was his creation of the annual U.S. Air Force Space Law Conference at the newly established
U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Sullivan chaired the three-day classified conference for invited members of the Air Force, CIA, NRO, and Department of State. Sullivan persuaded Professor
Carl Sagan to be the pro bono keynote speaker at the formal dinner at the inaugural Space Law Conference held at Peterson Field Air Force Base (now the
Peterson Space Force Base) in Colorado Springs. Another career highlight was Sullivan's legal work regarding the launch and operation of the satellites of the
Global Positioning System (GPS) owned by the U.S. government and operated by the U.S. Air Force. One of the legal issues successfully resolved was the possible liability of the Air Force for accidents occurring due to malfunctions of GPS once the classified GPS signals were declassified and made available to the general public. Upon his Senate confirmation and appointment as a U.S. federal judge, Sullivan resigned as general counsel of the U.S. Air Force and was sworn in as a federal judge on May 27, 1986.
Governor of Wake Island In addition, from 1984 to 1986, Sullivan served as the governor of
Wake Island, a small strategic island approximately midway between Hawaii and Japan that is a U.S. territory. Wake Island was important in the 1930s and 1940s as a refueling base. The Japanese captured it at the beginning of World War II in the
Battle of Wake Island. During his tenure as governor, Sullivan supported the U.S. Air Force island commander in administration, appointed a judge and various officials to administer the Wake Island legal system, coordinated with the
U.S. Department of the Interior to designate the island as an historic landmark and designated November 22 as the Wake Island Holiday. In addition, Sullivan granted permission for a chartered
Pan American 747 to land on Wake Island for the purpose of celebrating the
Pacific Ocean route of the historic Pan American clipper flying boat. In 2024, Wake Island has again become important due to its strategic location in the Pacific and the tension between
China and
Taiwan.
Federal judicial service Sullivan was appointed as a federal judge by President Reagan in 1986. In 1990, President
George H. W. Bush appointed Sullivan as chief judge of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, one of the 14 U.S. courts of appeal with access to review by the
U.S. Supreme Court via the writ of
certiorari. In 2002, Judge Sullivan was elevated to and remains in the position of senior federal judge of this court after more than 16 years of active appellate judicial service. While serving as chief judge, Sullivan successfully requested funds from Congress to renovate the courthouse to duplicate the interior to the original condition that existed in 1910 when the courthouse was built for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The courthouse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is the oldest operating courthouse in the District of Columbia. Chief Judge Sullivan also significantly expanded the court's project outreach program to travel to law schools and cities outside of D.C. to conduct oral arguments of pending cases. One such oral argument was conducted aboard the
USS John F. Kennedy approximately 300 miles off the coast of the United States (well beyond the 12 nautical mile limit of U.S. territorial waters) to demonstrate the global jurisdiction of the
Uniform Code of Military Justice and the court's jurisdiction. The president of the
American Bar Association, the deputy attorney general of the United States, and the famous defense attorney
F. Lee Bailey were observers to that court hearing at sea. Many of the approximately 5,000 sailors on board the aircraft carrier witnessed the court hearing in person and via
CCTV.
International judicial conferences and debates between England and the United States Conferences During his active judicial service, Judge Sullivan organized and chaired multiple judicial conferences, normally held at his courthouse in Washington, D.C. In addition, three of the annual conferences were hosted by other nations and held in Canada, England, and Denmark. Participating judges from the following countries attended the conferences (Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Canada,
Columbia,
Romania,
Republic of China, Australia,
Hungary and the United States). The theme of each conference was decided based upon rule of law observations derived from Judge Sullivan's sitting as an observer judge of trials at the
Old Bailey, appeal hearings at the
Royal Courts of Justice in London, trials at the
High Court of Hong Kong, trials at the
High Court in Dublin, and as a civilian observer of a civil trial in
Nykøbing Falster, Denmark. For example, the theme of the Copenhagen conference in 2002 was "What is the structure of the perfect judicial system of justice in a democracy?"
Debates on judicial reform between England and America For several years, Judge Sullivan organized an annual debate between England and the United States based upon the differences in judicial proceedings between the U.S. and the UK systems of justice. In the U.S., these debates were held primarily for law students at sites such as the
Georgetown Law Center and
Harvard Law School. In London, the debates were held at
Gray's Inn and in the auditorium of the
U.S. Embassy in London. English debaters included Judge
Graham Boal, Judge
Brian Barker, Judge and Common Sergeant of England Neil Denison, Judge Brian Capstick (all from the Central Criminal Court "the
Old Bailey"), Master Michael McKenzie, Justice Sir
Philip Otton, and Justice Sir Thomas Tucker from the Royal Courts of Justice (London). American debaters included Judge Sullivan, Judge
Stanley Sporkin, Harvard Professor
Charles Ogletree, Judge
Ken Starr, lawyer F. Lee Bailey, and lawyer
Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. Debate issues included: the UK practice of appointment of judges by the Crown vs. the U.S. practice of selecting many judges by elections in states, and the U.S. criminal guilty verdict by 12-0 jury decision vs. the UK 10-2 super majority verdict.
Other international rule of law activities Judge Sullivan participated in other international legal conferences, such as the 2004 Symposium on a New Constitution for Taiwan as the U.S. discussant in the Round Table Forum of the symposium (along with representatives from Taiwan, Germany, France, and Japan). The Round Table Forum was held in
Taipei and chaired by the former president of the Republic of China,
Lee Teng-hui. In addition, Sullivan is a member of an
ad hoc pro bono group of high-ranking former U.S. government officials, who have advocated for years to protect Iranian refugees from terrorist activities of Iran. This invitation-only group supports a democratic and free Iran and includes two former U.S. senators, retired four-star generals, former federal judges, a retired FBI director, a retired CIA director, a former
secretary of Homeland Security, and other former senior members of the U.S. government. For an example of advocacy, see "Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan—Anniversary of April 8 Massacre at Ashraf". During his career, Sullivan has been awarded the Medal of Justice from
Romania, the First Class Medal of Defense from
Hungary, the Defense Minister's Citation of Merit from the
Republic of China, an honorary Doctor of Law degree from
New England School of Law, the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, the Medal for Distinguished Public Service from the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Castle Award from the West Point Society (D.C.) and the William Tudor Sword. The Castle and Tudor Awards are given to one West Point graduate each year. Sullivan is also a recipient of the
Ellis Island Medal of Honor. == Literary career ==