On the most basic level an Attorney General is the
leading law enforcement official for the state or country. He is most definitely not a legislator or
governor. Yet as Colorado Attorney
General John Suthers points out that is what
many Attorneys General are becoming:
Recently, attorneys general
in Virginia, Pennsylvania and California have given in to the temptation to
abuse the power entrusted to our position by refusing to defend their states’
bans on same-sex marriage in court. . . .
It appears that some
attorneys general are wielding the litigation veto for the same reasons a
governor might wield a constitutional veto: They strongly disagree with the
law. . . .
But in contrast to the
president or a governor, there is no constitutional authority for this
litigation veto. To the contrary, it undermines many important principles of
our democracy.
To be clear Suthers is not arguing the case for or
against same-sex “marriage.” He is writing
about the job of Attorney General.
The politicization of Attorneys General starts with Eric
Holder and the Obama Administration. Holder has stated his Department of Justice
won’t enforce certain laws and the Obama Administration has refused to follow the
law on its signature act, Obamacare.
This is dangerous and goes beyond the politics of the moment. It is not just damaging the country right now
but the roles of Attorneys General going forward. It gives political cover and license for
state Attorneys General to also ignore the law and their jobs. As Suthers concludes
on Attorneys General:
We will become viewed as
simply one more player in a political system rather than as legal authorities
in a legal system.
As an association of lawyers, we are very concerned about
this and it is one or the reasons we have called on Eric Holder to resign.
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