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Thursday, September 01, 2011
Courts - Suit on authority of State of Washington AG to make the State "a plaintiff in a multistate lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation recently passed by Congress"
Thanks to How Appealing for spotting this decision and linking to the majority opinion and the two separately linked concurring opinions. Here is how the majority opinion of the Supreme Court of Washington in the case of the City of Seattle v. Wash. State Attorney General (Sept. 1, 2011) begins:
OWENS, J. -- The attorney general of Washington made the State a plaintiff in a multistate lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the health care reform legislation recently passed by Congress. The city of Seattle seeks a writ of mandamus directing the attorney general to withdraw the State of Washington from the litigation. Resolution of this case requires that we determine the scope of the powers of the attorney general under the Washington Constitution and our statutes. * * *Statutory authority vests the attorney general with the discretionary authority to participate in the litigation at issue. We also determine, however, that this result is not constitutionally compelled; the Washington Constitution does not vest the attorney general with any common law authority. It is for the people of the state of Washington, through their elected representatives or through the initiative process, to define the role of the attorney general. The power of the attorney general is “created and limited, not by the common law, but by the law enacted by the people, either in their constitutional declarations or through legislative declarations in pursuance of constitutional provisions.” State ex rel. Attorney Gen. v. Seattle Gas & Elec. Co., 28 Wash. 488, 500, 68 P. 946, 70 P. 114 (1902).
Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 1, 2011 02:26 PM
Posted to Courts in general