Bysiewicz
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - The Connecticut Supreme Court will decide if Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is qualified to run for attorney general this year.
The state Supreme Court also chose to expedite the process, with briefs to be filed by Friday and oral arguments scheduled for Tuesday. Earlier this month, Superior Court Judge Michael Sheldon ruled Bysiewicz has 10 years of practicing law in the state, as is required of attorney general candidates.
The state Republican Party appealed Sheldon's ruling. Bysiewicz called it a "continuing campaign to discredit my candidacy and draw out the process."
"The Republicans have tried every trick they could think of to deny voters the chance to make their own decisions," she added.
"I believe that the Supreme Court will uphold Judge Sheldon's ruling and I look forward to a campaign based on substance and debate, not political gimmicks."
The Democratic nominating convention is May 21-22. Current Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is running for U.S. Senate.
Bysiewicz is an attorney, but she has been secretary of state since 1998.
Sheldon issued a 93-page ruling that did not address Bysiewicz's challenge to the constitutionality of the requirement because he said she met the 10-year standard, according to a report in the Hartford Courant.
The report also notes that during videotaped testimony in the case, Bysiewicz admitted she has never tried a case as a lawyer.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.