AG Says Bysiewicz’s Qualifications Still Unclear

HARTFORD (AP) — Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s candidacy as Connecticut’s next attorney general hit a snag Tuesday after the man who currently holds that job said it’s up to a court to decide whether she’s qualified.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued a legal opinion, at Bysiewicz’s request, that said the state law requiring candidates for attorney general to have actively practiced law for at least ten years is constitutional.

Blumenthal also ruled that “active practice” requires more than simply maintaining a law license.

But Blumenthal stopped short of saying that his fellow Democrat was not qualified to serve as attorney general. He said there is “a cloud of uncertainty” as to the exact definition of active practice and said it’s a factual question that must be answered on a case-by-case basis by a court.

“This office will not have the last word,” he said.

His 14-page ruling only examined the legal issues surrounding the law and not Bysiewicz’s qualifications. Without mentioning Bysiewicz by name, he said a candidate could seek a court ruling to clarify the meaning of the statute. Bysiewicz would have to decide whether to seek the ruling as a candidate or as secretary of the state.

Bysiewicz, who recently decided to switch from a possible bid for governor to a run for attorney general after Blumenthal announced he would run for US Senator Christopher Dodd’s seat, said she is staying the race and does not plan to seek a court ruling. Bysiewicz said she is encouraged by Blumenthal’s decision because it points to three other states with broad definitions of active practice.

She had asked Blumenthal, in her capacity as secretary of the state, for the opinion after a Democratic blogger raised questions about her qualifications.

Bysiewicz is a member of the state bar in good standing and worked as an attorney in private practice in Connecticut from 1988 to 1994. But her campaign has said that she met the requirement because she has been overseeing attorneys and legal work during her 11 years as secretary of the state.

The Hartford Courant first reported last month that Bysiewicz obtained a 50 percent discount from a $110-a-year professional fee by filing forms in 2006, 2007, and 2008 saying she did not practice law as an occupation.

Bysiewicz initially told the newspaper that the 2006 exemption was an error. The Courant later learned from judicial records about the other two exemptions. Bysiewicz has since asked the judicial department to disregard the three filings.