AG Watch

What is the attorney general? What is the duty of the office? And should we worry that these questions are surfacing in an election race between would-be attorneys general?

The fascinating (to political theorists) race in Connecticut between Robert Farr and Richard Blumenthal has brought the very nature of the post to the fore as a campaign issue. As professional scrutinizers of AGs, we’re glad for the assistance—and by such qualified experts—in the What The Heck Are The AGs All About Department.

Pay attention to Connecticut, as this campaign will most likely shed much light on the future role of state AGs everywhere.

California et al. just sued the auto industry because, according to the complaint, the automakers harmed California. As AG Lockyer’s press release implies, this action is merely a tactical maneuver in a larger battle between California and the nation regarding emission standards preferences.

That debate centers on federal preemption questions. The Federalism Project’s Federal Preemption event answered many of those questions and raised many more.

When USA Today runs an article outlining the AG litigulatory MO—in this case Bill Lockyer’s investigation of Hewlett-Packard—one starts to hope that the jig is up.

Lockyer’s law-less approach is clearly suspect in the article, “There’s no one California law against the practice, called ‘pretexting.’ But Lockyer’s staff is considering prosecuting under fraud laws, including those that prohibit identity theft and unauthorized use of computer data.”

And the article captures the equally pertinent political score, “But independent tech analyst Rob Enderle says Lockyer may be going after HP mainly for publicity in an election year.”

HP is headquartered in California, making this AG sweep at least somewhat less egregious than most. However, the article also places the investigation squarely in the legal-economic context that undermines all AG claims to righteousness: “The Department of Justice, FBI, House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Securities and Exchange Commission also have launched inquiries.” So, while Lockyer and Massachusetts AG Tom Reilly roust about for loose change in Hewlett’s couch, they also interfere with an integrated federal investigation.

And this is by design, folks. Enjoy your weekend.

35 state attorneys general have “offered” anti-smoking Public Service Announcements to movie studios.

Anything anti-smoking makes for popular policy. And unless the worst libertarian suspicions are confirmed, the AGs have not encroached on the studios’ liberties.

But why are AGs injecting themseves into the movie making business at all? Even if this were a state-by-state policy question—and we rather doubt that it is—shouldn’t governors and state legislators be handling this sort of policy making? Since when do AGs handle policy making, Hollywood or elsewhere?

If the AGs need to concern themselves with Hollywood, perhaps they could figure out where all of Brendan Fraser’s good scripts went.