State Representative Gerald Fox III (D-Stamford), House Chair of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, says a bill (HB6342) clarifying eligibility requirements for holding the office of Connecticut Attorney General will increase the pool of qualified candidates and reduce potential court challenges to a candidacy as occurred during last year’s election.
The bill, which passed the House of Representatives and now moves to the Senate, specifies qualifying criteria for attorney general by simply requiring someone to be admitted to the Connecticut Bar Association as an attorney for a continuous period of at least 10 years.
“Voters should ultimately decide if someone is qualified to hold office, not the courts,” said Fox, who led debate on the House floor. “By clarifying and simplifying requirements for attorney general, we should be able to avoid litigation in future elections.”
Since 1897, Connecticut law has required a person to be an attorney with at least 10 years of “active practice at the bar of this state” to be sworn in as attorney general. Under appeal of a Superior court ruling that deemed then-Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz an eligible candidate, the state Supreme Court disqualified her 2010 candidacy by interpreting “active practice” to include some experience litigating cases in court.
“Though court litigation is an important and high profile aspect of practicing law, the elected office of attorney general should not be limited as such,” said Fox. “There are plenty of excellent corporate and other types of lawyers that could make great attorney generals and they should have the right to seek office.”
During a public hearing before the Judiciary Committee last month, the Connecticut Bar Association testified in support of the bill, noting that current statute would disqualify many if not most lawyers from serving as attorney general.
