Attorneys general and prosecutors scramble to figure out what comes next if Roe falls

“Former Maine Attorney General James Tierney knows a thing or two about the job. He has been a go-to adviser for state attorneys general and teaches a class on them at Harvard Law School.…

Tierney says attorneys general have immense discretion. They can choose to challenge a restrictive abortion law in court – or defend it.

’It’s always important who sits in the attorney general’s office. Always. Not just political party but what they argue, how they argue,’ Tierney says. ‘Does who sits in the AG’s office end the story? And the answer is clearly no.’

In many states, abortion could carry criminal penalties. What attorneys general typically can’t do is decide whether or not to enforce them.”

Sam Gringlas, “Attorneys general and prosecutors scramble to figure out what comes next if Roe falls,” All Things Considered, NPR, May 16, 2022.