Superior Court Judge Michael Sheldon said Friday that he’s giving “expedited consideration” to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s lawsuit over whether she meets the state’s statutory requirement to run for Connecticut attorney general — in hopes of a ruling in time for the Democrats’ nominating convention May 21 and 22.
Sheldon tended to scheduling matters at a hearing in Superior Court in Hartford as he conferred with lawyers for Bysiewicz, the state attorney general’s office, and the state Republican and Democratic parties.
Bysiewicz’s lawyers, Wesley Horton and Daniel Krisch, said that by Monday they would produce a folder of documents for the court and other attorneys. The documents will be part of the evidence with which they will try to prove Bysiewicz’s claim that her 11 years as secretary of the state count as the “active practice” of law, even though a person doesn’t need to be a lawyer to hold the office.
Proving that point is critical to Bysiewicz’s hopes, because a state statute says that the attorney general needs 10 years’ experience in the “active practice” of law in Connecticut.
Critics including the state GOP note that Bysiewicz had only six years in private law practice in Connecticut before assuming her current office in 1999 — and they doubt that serving as secretary of the state, an office that supervises elections and the business registrations, is the practice of law.
To counter those doubts, Bysiewicz filed a lawsuit last month seeking a judge’s “declaratory ruling” that she qualifies under the 10-year statute. If that fails, she wants the judge to declare the 10-year requirement unconstitutional.
Bysiewicz’s lawyers said the documents in the file to be handed in Monday include a response from her to a person who wrote a letter saying she should provide the racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds of candidates. In the response, they said, Bysiewicz explained why it would be unconstitutional for her to do such a thing.
Also at Friday’s hearing — the first to be held in the newly filed case — Sheldon confirmed that the state GOP’s motion to intervene as a legal party to the suit has been approved. “The party is a party to these proceedings,” he said.
The GOP’s lawyer, Eliot Gersten, said he plans to seek sworn deposition testimony, and to request documents, to test Bysiewicz’s claims before a trial on the evidence.
Sheldon continued the case to Wednesday for another hearing on scheduling.
Current Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is running for the U.S. Senate.