Litigation

Support my man, Blumenthal, despite his bad lawyering

By Carter Wood

President Obama travels to Stamford, Conn., today to campaign for Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who's running for the U.S. Senate.

Wonder if either one will refer to Connecticut v. American Electric Power, the Blumenthal-led suit that claimed electric utilities created a public nuisance through their greenhouse gas emissions. Last September the Second Circuit found for the states, and Blumenthal touts the case on his campaign site as an example of his "standing up to polluters."

But the Obama Administration wants the Second Circuit's ruling thrown out, which is to say, wants Blumenthal to lose. In a brief filed by the Solicitor General on behalf of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Administration called for the Supreme Court to vacate the circuit court's ruling and remand the case for further proceedings. (More on the brief from Jonathan Adler at Volokh.)

The President and AG will avoid mentioning the dispute, no doubt, but wouldn't a frank acknowledgment be refreshing? "Vote for my friend, Richard Blumenthal! He's wrong on the law, and my Administration is fighting him in the Supreme Court, but otherwise, he's OK by me."

Full post as published by Point of Law on September 16, 2010 (boomark / email).