An Educational Resource on the Office of State Attorney General
Media engagements by James Tierney on news involving state attorneys general.
“Tierney said the administration is making fewer mistakes that could lead to losses on procedural grounds, but he suspects there could be an increase in investigations of Trump by attorneys general.”
Maureen Groppe, “Multistate lawsuits against Trump in 2 years exceed those against Obama, Bush in 8 years,” USA TODAY, April 10, 2019.
“The US Supreme Court in 2006 gave the states the special right to sue the federal government when other organizations can’t. But the real reason it’s happening is because of the integration of our economy. ”
“Why Attorney General Races Draw National Attention (and Donations),” The Takeaway, WNYC, November 16, 2018.
“State attorneys general have become nationally more important in a time of political gridlock, said James Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine and a lecturer at Harvard Law School. Apart from their ability to sue the federal government directly, there are other ways for AGs to influence policy — whether they believe the problem is federal overreach or underreach. They can, for example, limit how much state and local law enforcement officers cooperate with federal immigration agencies or step in to sue companies when they believe the federal government isn’t doing enough to protect citizens.”
Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Nathaniel Rakich, “These 8 Attorney-General Races Could Make A Big Difference To Trump’s Agenda,” FiveThirtyEight, October 22, 2018.
“‘Ever since tobacco [litigation in the 1990s], the AGs have become national figures.… Even a small state AG can impact a national corporation. So if the AG of Maine decides that Dunkin’ Donuts [for example] is doing something wrong … then that gets on the Internet and Dunkin’ Donut franchisees all over the country get nervous because of what somebody did in Maine.’
‘And because the economy is integrated, does it really make any difference whether it is an assistant AG in Connecticut or an assistant AG in Missouri who looks at Dunkin’ Donuts? The answer is no.’
‘So with that integration at work, the question is what is actually happening here [with races for state attorneys general getting more play and attention, and more partisan],’ Tierney added. ‘There may be much less there than meets the eye.’”
Kirk Victor, “State AG races are ‘where the action is’ this fall,” FTCWatch, Issue 946 (newsletter), September 17, 2018.
“The end of the incumbency rule, says Tierney, could make it more difficult for attorneys general to collaborate on litigation that affects many states, red and blue, including against pharmaceutical companies. ‘Now that AGs can run against other AGs, I imagine it’s pretty difficult for them to have confidential discussions across party lines, and that’s a problem,’ he says.”
Samantha Michaels, “The Most Effective Way for Democrats to Fight Trump’s Agenda Isn’t Where You Think It Is,” Mother Jones, September 14, 2018.
“‘[PA AG Josh Schapiro] took over an office that obviously was in real crisis and he turned it around very quickly,’ said James Tierney, a Harvard Law School professor and former Maine attorney general who works with attorneys general around the country. ‘He’s shown real leadership.’”
Wes Venteicher, "Josh Shapiro driven by ambition, desire to tackle big problems," TribLIVE.com, Aug. 26, 2018.
“In the wake of scandal, the shock to staff members is keenly felt, but ‘after a day, the assistant A. G.s will get back to work,’ Mr. Tierney said. In fact, he said, cases might proceed more smoothly without Mr. Schneiderman, whose tendency to garner publicity for himself could be a distraction.”
John Schwartz, "With Schneiderman Out, Environmental Fight Loses a Prominent Voice," New York Times, May 9, 2018.
“‘All of the work they were doing yesterday they’re doing today,’ Tierney told NBC News, adding that the New York attorney general’s office has a talented staff. ‘This isn’t about any individual, this is about our Constitution and our laws. We’ve got a lot of professional prosecutors who are working while we’re talking.’”
Jane C. Timm, "With Eric Schneiderman out as NY attorney general, who will lead the Trump resistance?," NBC News, May 9, 2018.
“‘Nothing is going to change,’ predicted James E. Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine who is now a lecturer at Harvard Law School. ‘No change — zero.’”
Shane Goldmacher and Alan Feuer, "Eric Schneiderman Set Himself Up as Trump’s Foil. What Happens Now?," New York Times, May 8, 2018
“‘Absolutely nothing changes,’ James Tierney, former director of the National State Attorney General Program and lecturer at Harvard University, told TPM.
’He’s got a great staff,’ Tierney continued. ‘Nothing is going to change. There’s no legal difference.’”
Allegra Kirkland, "‘Nothing Changes’: NY AG Will Remain Check On Trump Without Schneiderman," Talking Points Memo, May 8, 2018.
“Today all 50 states and the District of Columbia have an officer with the title of attorney-general. All but a handful are elected in partisan elections, and all reflect the core philosophy of their respective political parties. And most importantly, each one has the extraordinary power to go to court to challenge the decisions of the US president or anyone else that affect their home turf.”
James Tierney, "Activist state attorneys-general take on Trump and Facebook," Financial Times, March 27, 2018.
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“‘Attorneys general are … in a much better strategic position [than cities and counties] to decide when to sue opioid manufacturers, and what claims to make, because they have the authority to issue civil investigative demands to companies,’ Tierney said.
…’What we have with the opioid crisis is a national issue that should be resolved nationally through the attorneys general, whether through use of contingency fee counsel or not,’ Tierney said.”
Peter Hayes and Steven M. Sellers, "From Opioids to Guns: Cities, Counties Step Up Civil Suits," Bloomberg BNA, March 15, 2018.
“‘It happens all the time,’ said former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, now a Harvard Law School lecturer who advises state attorneys general. Tierney did not want to comment on the Wayfair case specifically, but said that in general, it is not uncommon for states to pass laws they know would be tested at the Supreme Court. State laws on abortion rights and immigration, for example, have been passed in defiance of court precedents, Tierney noted.
But Tierney said that in recent years, he has detected more of ‘a defiance, a roughness in the air’ in cases brought to the Supreme Court aimed at busting precedents. ‘People are getting more feisty, more interested in challenging all this,’ he said. ‘You have these large interest groups that say, ‘We don’t care, let’s push it.’’”
Tony Mauro, "How Supreme Court's Internet Tax Case Was Built 'From the Ground Up,'" The National Law Journal, March 16, 2018.
“The attorney general acts as the state’s chief prosecutor in Rhode Island, Alaska and Delaware, according to Harvard lecturer and former Maine Attorney General James Tierney. He adds that attorneys general are in a unique position to prosecute cases as they have more resources and are independent officials….”
Sarah Zimmerman, "Illinois Attorney General race a battle over independence," The News & Observer, March 10, 2018.
“When the Trump administration wanted to fill out court vacancies in the South, it turned to the Republican attorneys general in many of those states, tapping their talent to build the army of conservative judges GOP activists were hoping for.…
James Tierney, who served as attorney general of Maine from 1980 to 1990, said it’s a natural place to look, since those offices stockpiled conservative talent during the Obama administration. And given how much GOP-led states battled the Obama administration, those lawyers were involved in the big fights of the day.
‘They come predisposed toward looking at national issues, and you see, AGs are involved in many national issues,’ Mr. Tierney said.”
Alex Swoyer, "Trump officials look to Southern attorneys general to fill court vacancies," The Washington Times, February 22, 2018.
“‘I think the AGs are the only plaintiffs who have a shot at standing,’ said James Tierney, a former Democratic attorney general from Maine, and a lecturer at Harvard Law School.
That’s because, he explained, states have unique standing to challenge the federal government. Tierney said there is no wording in the emoluments clauses about how they should be enforced, and the state would be a “natural enforcer” of the clauses because of its interest in preserving its constitutional rights.”
Cogan Schneier, “After Defeat in New York, State AGs Are Next to Test Emoluments Challenge,” The National Law Journal, January 24, 2018.
“Former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, for one, says Becerra has demonstrated national leadership “even in cases where his name is not in the headlines.’ The skills that he developed in the House, building consensus and holding a caucus together, seem to have served Becerra in building ties with attorneys general in other states, said Tierney, a lecturer at Harvard Law School who teaches a class on the role of attorneys general. ‘He knew from his congressional experience that everybody counts.’”
Ben Christopher, “For California attorney general, suing Trump again and again is a team sport,” Los Angeles Daily News, November 30, 2017.
“‘Anything that involves trips to fancy hotels should be looked at pretty closely by school boards,’ said James E. Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine who is a lecturer at Harvard Law School, ‘and they should decide whether the ultimate users — kids — are getting the right products.’”
Natasha Singer And Danielle Ivory, "Legislator Targets Tech Perks in Baltimore County District," New York Times, Nov. 9, 2017.
““My long-term concern is that the AGs become seen as one more lawyer, one more politician on the make, and that undercuts the credibility of the office itself,’ says Tierney, the lecturer at Harvard Law who served as Maine’s AG from 1980 to 1990.
…
What’s more, while AGs are the most prominent members of their offices, the vast majority of employees who work there are civil servants, not political appointees.
’They come in every day, they do a hard job, they don’t care who the president of the United States is. For 90 percent of them, there’s probably no change,’ Tierney says.”
“‘Any time you are paying a public employee to promote a product in the public classroom without transparency, then that’s problematic,’ said James E. Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine who is a lecturer at Harvard Law School. ‘Should attorneys general be concerned about this practice? The answer is yes.’”
Natasha Singer, "Silicon Valley Courts Brand-Name Teachers, Raising Ethics Issues," New York Times, Sept. 2, 2017.