Newly promoted Arizona Governor Jan Brewer — a Republican who took over when Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano moved to D.C. to run the Department of Homeland Security — is not happy with the fact that the Attorney General is in charge of representing the state in litigation. LegalNewsline details the “row”:
Tensions tightened after Goddard balked at the governor’s request that he file an amicus brief with the high court, outlining the state’s support for a 2006 state law on funding programs to help students learn English.
I’ve discussed this question previously in “When Governors and AGs Disagree.” In that post, though, I focused on whether the Attorney General could, through his legal role, slow down or stop the Governor’s policy decision in Michigan. In this Arizona dispute, however, it sounds more like Gov. Brewer just wanted to insert her policy preference on Attorney General Terry Goddard’s decision in a pending case. Of course, Brewer argues that Goddard was more deferential to the governor’s policy preference when Napolitano, a Democrat, was in the role.
Unfortunately for Brewer, Goddard — as the state’s chief legal officer — has the constitutional legal right to do just that. Whether it will turn out to be a palatable political decision as well remains to be seen. But, legally, he seems to be on safe ground.
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found