John has a wide range of experience litigating both civil and criminal cases, in both trial and appellate courts, at both the state and federal levels. Before joining Schaerr | Jaffe, he was a shareholder in the appellate boutique firm Lee|Nielsen, founded with Thomas R. Lee, former Associate Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court. John’s work in private practice has included constitutional, employment, tort, patent, trademark, criminal, municipal, contract, and other matters. Before entering private practice, John was an Assistant Solicitor General in the Utah Attorney General’s Office, where he litigated criminal appeals, state postconviction cases, and federal habeas claims for eleven years. He has litigated more than 100 appeals and argued in appellate courts more than 70 times. During his time as an Assistant SG, John drafted in whole or in part six amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court and was a fellow at the National Association of Attorneys General Supreme Court Center. Before joining the Utah Attorney General’s Office, John was a Deputy Utah County attorney for four years, prosecuting all manner of criminal cases for four years, and doing numerous jury trials. John has taught law school courses on appellate practice and legal rhetoric and reasoning at the S.J. Quinney Law School (University of Utah) and appellate brief writing at the J. Reuben Clark Law School (Brigham Young University). He is also an active poster on the Appellate Advocacy Blog.
Education
- BA, Political Science, 2003 (BYU, magna cum laude)
- JD, 2007 (BYU, magna cum laude)
Admissions
- Utah
- Tenth Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
*Not admitted to the D.C. Bar. Admitted to the Utah State Bar and practicing under the supervision of D.C. Bar members pursuant to Rule 49(c)(8).
Judge Aileen Cannon Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case, Citing Brief Filed by Schaerr-Jaffe Attorneys
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon agreed with defense attorneys that Jack Smith lacked the legal authority to prosecute Donald Trump for allegedly stealing classified documents, dismissing the case against the former president. In her order, Judge Cannon cited the amici curiae brief filed by Schaerr-Jaffe founding partner Gene Schaerr and attorneys […]
Politico and CNN Cover Gene Schaerr’s Oral Arguments in Trump’s Classified Documents Case
Schaerr-Jaffe founding partner Gene Schaerr appeared as a representative of several amici at a hearing on Friday over whether Jack Smith, the special prosecutor charging former president Donald J. Trump with stealing national secrets, has the constitutional authority to prosecute him. Schaerr was among three legal experts who addressed the […]
Amicus Brief Filed in Powell v. SEC
On June 24, attorneys from Schaerr | Jaffe filed an amicus brief for the Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The brief is for the Powell, et al v. United States Securities and Exchange Commission case. You can read the brief in full […]
Erik Jaffe Discusses Hot Cases with Pacific Research Institute
Erik Jaffe, Partner in Schaerr-Jaffe and fellow in the Pacific Research Institute’s (PRI) legal studies, appeared on PRI’s The Next Round podcast for his annual preview of the Supreme Court’s hot cases, expected to be handed down June 2024. Lance Izumi and Jaffe discussed how the Court may rule […]