New Jersey Attorney General Relationship to County Prosecutors and the Open Public Records Act
In the context of an open records lawsuit filed by the ACLU against the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey (CPANJ), the New Jersey Superior Court analyzed the relationship between the attorney general of New Jersey and the county prosecutors to determine whether CPANJ was a public entity. ACLU v. County Prosecutors Ass’n, 2022 N.J….
Pennsylvania Attorney General May Take Litigation Position Different from State Agency, Ethics Rules Apply
In Synthes USA HQ Inc. v. Commonwealth, 2023 LEXIS 230, (Mar. 22, 2023), Pennsylvania’s Supreme court affirmed the authority of the Pennsylvania attorney general to take a position in litigation different from that of a state agency, while also providing a rare analysis of the application of attorney ethics rules to attorney general practice. The…
State Auditor May Not Retain Outside Counsel without Attorney General Approval or Opportunity to Represent Agency
State agencies in Mississippi may not retain private attorneys without first seeking representation from the attorney general, according to the Mississippi supreme court in White v. Jernigan Copeland Attys., PLLC, 346 So. 3d 887 (Miss. 2022). In 2012, Mississippi’s State Auditor entered into a memorandum of understanding with a law firm, retaining them for the…
Indiana Governor May Retain Counsel without Attorney General’s Consent
The Indiana General Assembly enacted a law that allowed it to call itself into emergency session and overrode the Governor’s veto. The Governor sued the legislature, challenging the law as “unconstitutionally co-opting a purely executive function.” The Governor argued that under the state constitution, only the Governor can call an emergency session, and this law,…
California Private Attorney General Statute Does Not Usurp Attorney General Powers
A lobbying group for small and mid-sized businesses challenged California’s Labor Code Private Attorney General Act (PAGA). PAGA “allows California employees to sue their employers and pursue civil penalties on behalf of the state for violations relating not only to themselves, but also to other California employees of the same employer.” PAGA is a qui…
Court Affirms States’ Parens Patriae Standing in Antitrust Case
Forty-nine states sued 20 manufacturers of generic drugs, alleging an anticompetitive scheme to “fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and engage in market and customer allocations” of certain generic pharmaceuticals. The district court recently decided defendants’ motion to dismiss, holding that although the states could not seek disgorgement, they do have parens patriae standing…
Recent Case Briefs: Attorney General Powers and Duties
The fourth edition of the most authoritative and complete source for information about state attorney general offices.
Recent Decisions Upholding Attorney General Prosecutorial Discretion In Cases Alleging Retaliatory Prosecution
Several recent decisions, in state courts in Massachusetts and New York and in federal courts in New York, have clarified that statements made by the attorney general in connection with investigations and enforcement actions do not necessarily indicate improper bias on the part of the attorney general and do not warrant dismissal of the lawsuits….
Attorney General’s Civil Subpoenas Upheld by State Trial and Appellate Courts and Federal Court In Parallel Civil/Criminal Proceedings
New York courts recently issued decisions involving the interplay between criminal and civil investigations. In People v. Trump Organization, No. 451685/2020 (N.Y. Sup.Ct. Feb. 17, 2022), the court denied a motion to quash subpoenas issued in a civil investigation while a parallel criminal investigation was occurring. The attorney general initiated a civil investigation into whether…
Massachusetts “anti-SLAPP” Statute Does Not Apply to Attorney General Actions
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has ruled that the state’s “anti-SLAPP” statute does not apply to actions by the attorney general. Commonwealth v. Exxon-Mobil, No. 13211 (Mass. May 24, 2022). Anti-SLAPP statutes “provide defendants a way to quickly dismiss meritless lawsuits —filed against them for exercising their First Amendment rights. These laws aim to…
