AP: North Carolina Republicans seek to force top Democrats to fall in line with Trump agenda

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“James Tierney, a former Maine attorney general who teaches at Harvard Law School, said keeping North Carolina out of multistate lawsuits wouldn’t damage efforts to challenge Trump orders. But it could have a major impact if North Carolina doesn’t push back over policies that target the state specifically, he said.”

Gary D. Robertson, “North Carolina Republicans seek to force top Democrats to fall in line with Trump agenda,” The Associated Press, March 7, 2025.

Boston Globe: New England has become a hotbed of anti-Trump litigation.It’s not a coincidence.

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“‘The states are being highly strategic on where they sue,’ Tierney said.

”But … there’s another important factor besides winning the case up to the appellate level and hoping the conservative Supreme Court doesn’t overturn it: Gaining public attention.…

”‘The real power of the litigation was the storytelling,’ Tierney said. First Circuit judges ‘are not going to do a favor for anybody, not for the president or for the plaintiffs. ... If you get a judge like [Judge John] McConnell in Rhode Island, they’re going to say, “I want to hear the story, I want the Department of Justice in my courtroom.”’
”

WaPo: As Trump pursues his policies, Democratic states block his path

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“The attorneys general, the top law enforcement officers in their states, have a unique ability to challenge federal actions in court, said James Tierney, a lecturer at Harvard Law School and former attorney general of Maine. Their lawsuits play ‘a vital role, an emergency role,’ Tierney said.”

Maeve Reston, Reis Thebault, Joanna Slater and Shayna Jacobs, “As Trump pursues his policies, Democratic states block his path,” Washington Post, February 22, 2025.

NYTimes: A ‘Business-Friendly’ Lawyer’s Rise From Lobbyist to Attorney General Pick

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“‘The attorney general must first serve the American people and justice,’ said James Tierney, a former Maine attorney general, who also spent nearly two decades as the head of a Columbia University program focusing on the practice of law by state attorneys general, when asked about Ms. Bondi. ‘She can never serve the personal interests of the president or others seeking favors from him.”

Eric Lipton and Kate Kelly, “A ‘Business-Friendly’ Lawyer’s Rise From Lobbyist to Attorney General Pick,” New York Times, Jan. 8, 2025.

NYTimes: Police in New Jersey’s Capital Violate Residents’ Rights, U.S. Finds

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“‘I think it’s preferable to have enforcement like this done by the attorney general because they’re local, and they understand the culture and the people far better than the Department of Justice can,’ said James E. Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine and a lecturer at Harvard Law School.
...

’[But i]f the Department of Justice shuts down its civil rights division, it’s also a tremendous loss,’ Mr. Tierney said. ‘It sends a green light to malfeasance everywhere, all over the country.’”

Christopher Maag, "Police in New Jersey’s Capital Violate Residents’ Rights, U.S. Finds," New York Times, Nov. 21, 2024

The Hill: Democratic AGs rush to form line of defense against Trump

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“‘Nothing unites Democrats more than Donald Trump,’ said James Tierney, a Harvard Law School lecturer, the director of StateAG.org and a former Democratic attorney general of Maine.”

…
And that defense [of progressive policies by the states] doesn’t always look like lawsuits, experts noted. State attorneys general often write letters to congressional leaders, participate in the notice-and-comment rule-making stage and speak out about certain policies.

’The wise attorney general understands that they’re more than just a lawsuit machine,’ Tierney said.”

Julia Mueller, “Democratic AGs rush to form line of defense against Trump,” The Hill, November 17, 2024.

AP: Democratic state leaders prepare for a tougher time countering Trump in his second term

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“James Tierney, a former Maine attorney general who teaches a Harvard Law School class on the office, said, “What’s different [now from during Trump’s first term in office] is a much higher level of sophistication on all sides.””

Geoff Mulvihill, “Democratic state leaders prepare for a tougher time countering Trump in his second term,” The Associated Press, November 13, 2024

AP: They’re a path to becoming governor, but attorney general jobs are now a destination, too

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“‘If an AG acts like a congressman, they’re going to get treated like a congressman,’ [Tierney] said, ‘and they won’t get the deference from judges and the bar that an attorney general deserves.’”

The Economist: State attorneys-general are shaping national policy

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“Democratic attorneys-general sued the federal government more times in four years than they had in the previous 16, says Paul Nolette, a political scientist. Republicans took it a step further under Joe Biden, aiming their litigation not just at Democratic policies but at the administrative state itself. Today these lawsuits are masterfully co-ordinated to maximise partisan wins, says James Tierney, a former attorney-general of Maine who teaches at Harvard University. ”

ADF is providing free legal representation to Idaho in anti-abortion, anti-trans cases

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“‘It is a very bad practice to allow an advocacy group to represent the state,’ [Tierney] said. “They will represent their true client, the advocacy group, not the state.’”

Former Attorney General James Tierney visits UMaine to engage with students

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“Like many government positions, the role of Attorney General comes with sleepless nights and notable struggles. Tierney described the need for assessing one’s values as a lawyer to discern right from wrong in the pursuit of effective truth-telling.”
— Sofia Langlois

Sofia Langlois, "Former Attorney General James Tierney visits UMaine to engage with students," The Maine Campus, November 6, 2023

For a Notorious Police Department, This Killing Was the Last Straw

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“No other state gives its attorney general the power to take control of a local police department, said James E. Tierney, a former attorney general of Maine who works with the National Association of Attorneys General to train lawyers new to the position. It is only the second time that a New Jersey attorney general has exercised that power, and it is the first takeover precipitated by accusations of civil rights abuses.

’It’s a very dramatic thing to do,’ Mr. Tierney said.”

Christopher Maag, “For a Notorious Police Department, This Killing Was the Last Straw,” New York Times, May 30, 2023.

Tom Miller's Career Helped Reshape the Nation's Legal Landscape

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“‘This is going to be a big change in the way multistate cases work, because Tom Miller [was] the first stop,’ says James Tierney, who runs a program on state AGs at Harvard Law School. ‘Every corporation comes to Des Moines to find out how serious an issue is. Now there’s no one to talk to, with the balkanization of the American political structure.’”

Alan Greenblatt, “Tom Miller's Career Helped Reshape the Nation's Legal Landscape,” Governing, Jan. 3, 2023.

Longest-Ever Serving State Attorney General Defeated in Iowa

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“Miller’s high-profile role in multistate litigation gave his office unusual influence. ‘He became a very significant national legal figure,’ said James Tierney, a Harvard Law School lecturer and former Maine attorney general, who donated to Miller’s campaign. ‘Iowa punched way, way over its weight.’”

Seth Stern with assistance from Courtney Rozen and Dan Papscun, “Longest-Ever Serving State Attorney General Defeated in Iowa,” US Law Week, Bloomberg Law, November 9, 2022.

The election for Illinois’ attorney general comes at a dramatic legal moment

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“James Tierney, a lecturer at Harvard Law School and former attorney general of Maine, said attorneys general races are particularly important now, when the U.S. Supreme Court is making decisions that are rapidly changing the legal landscape of the United States.

Tierney said attorneys general have unique authority to make arguments in front of the Supreme Court, and as a lawyer for the people of the state, attorneys general have discretion in how they enforce laws and which cases they pursue.

’This is a dramatic moment in the development of the office of attorney general. Who your attorney general is, is going to significantly impact the lives of all the people of Illinois. They may not know it, but it will.’”

Shannon Heffernan, “The election for Illinois’ attorney general comes at a dramatic legal moment,” WBEZ Chicago, October 12, 2022.

Abortion Is Shaking Up Attorneys General Races and Exposing Limits to Their Powers

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“It’s not clear how many county attorneys and district attorneys will decide to enforce or fight their state abortion policies. But that leads to an uncertain legal landscape, said former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, a Democrat who is now a Harvard Law School lecturer. ‘We’re talking real chaos here,’ he said.”

Lauren Weber and Sam Whitehead, “Abortion Is Shaking Up Attorneys General Races and Exposing Limits to Their Powers,” CNN and Kaiser Family Foundation, August 19, 2022.

State AGs Unite Against Robocalls

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“‘I think we can give all the credit to the robocallers,’ said former Maine Attorney General James Tierney, founder of StateAG.org, an educational group that studies the offices of state attorneys general. ‘They have been able to do the politically impossible feat: They have been able to unite the attorneys general when they don’t unite on anything else. I don’t know who they are, or what country they are in, but everybody hates robocallers.

’[The AGs] are going to lose the pro-robocall vote, but I think they are willing to take the risk,’ said Tierney, a Democrat.”

Elaine S. Povich, “State Attorneys General Unite Against Robocalls,” Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, August 15, 2022.

Under Maura Healey, the attorney general’s office sued the Trump administration nearly 100 times. Most of the time, she prevailed.

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“Former Maine attorney general James Tierney, now a Harvard Law lecturer, said the strategy of suing the federal government can have a big payoff for the states. It’s much easier, after all, to sue to prevent policy changes than to pass new laws through Congress.

’You get a big bang for your buck,’ said Tierney, a Democrat. ‘You can stop something bad happening or bring money into your state. You can get huge payback.’”