Attorney general Richard Blumenthal thinks the state law requiring a prospective attorney general to have 10 years of "active practice" as a lawyer is constitutional and said it takes more than just having an active license to be considered as actively practicing law.
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who is running for the AG seat, asked Blumenthal for an opinion after a blogger questioned whether she meets the requirements for the office.
The exact definition would be up to a court to decided on a case-by-case basis, Blumenthal said. Bysiewicz she will not seek a court decision and will proceed with her campaign.
READ BLUMENTHAL'S OPINION HERE.
She said is encouraged by Blumenthal's decision and it shows, as far as she is concerned, that she has met the requirements to run for attorney general.
Ryan McKeen, East Hartford lawyer and fellow Democrat, started the debate by asking whether Bysiewicz met the 10-year requirement in his "A Connecticut Law Blog."
Connecticut law requires that the attorney general be "an attorney of law of at least 10 years' active practice" in the state.
Bysiewicz worked as an attorney in Connecticut from 1988 to 1994, according to Bysiewicz's campaign spokeswoman, Tanya Meck. And the 11 years Bysiewicz spent supervising attorneys while serving as Secretary of State also counts toward the requirement, according to Meck.
Blumenthal, who plans to run for U.S. Senate and not seen another term as A.G., stopped short of saying whether he believes his fellow Democrat is qualified.
