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![handle is hein.sag/sagct0030 and id is 1 raw text is: Attorney General's Opinion
Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal
Febraury 2, 2010
The Honorable Susan Bysiewicz
Secretary of the State
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Dear Secretary Bysiewicz:
This letter responds to your request for a formal legal opinion concerning the
constitutionality and interpretation of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-124. Section 3-124 sets
forth the qualifications for the Office of Attorney General and states, in pertinent
part, that [t]he Attorney General shall be an elector of this state and an attorney at
law of at least ten years' active practice at the bar of this state. You raise several
questions concerning this provision.
First, you question whether the statutory requirement that the Attorney General be
an attorney at law of at least ten years' active practice at the bar of this state is
constitutional, given the fact that the Connecticut constitution contains no specific
qualifications for the Office of Attorney General and Article Sixth, § 10, of the
constitution states, in pertinent part, that [e]very elector who has attained the age
of eighteen years shall be eligible to any office in the state.
Second, assuming § 3-124 is constitutional, you question whether there are
additional requirements for the Office of Attorney General beyond being an attorney
at law who has been a member of the bar for at least ten years in active status. If
the phrase active practice requires something more, you ask what specifically is
required.
Finally, you ask who makes the determination whether the requirement of active
practice has been satisfied by a particular candidate and what is the process for
making that determination.
You note in your letter that although these issues affect you personally as a
candidate for the Office of Attorney General, you are seeking our guidance in your
capacity as the Secretary of the State and the chief elections official for the State of
Connecticut. You state that your office will be called upon to accept certificates of
endorsement, issue notices of primary, and place candidates on the ballot for the
2010 election. Based upon the representations in your letter as to the need to
resolve these general legal questions, our advice will be limited to addressing
questions of law that are not fact-specific, and that relate to the performance of the
official duties of the Office of the Secretary of the State as applied to all potential
candidates for Attorney General.
For the reasons that follow, we conclude that a Connecticut court, if faced with the
issue, would likely hold that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 3-124 is constitutional. We further
conclude that the requirement of active practice at the bar of this state for ten
years means more than merely being a member of the Connecticut bar in active
status.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagct0030&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)