Week 11
Relationship with Federal Government
Syllabus: The Role of the State Attorney General
State Attorneys General have a complex relationship with the federal government, including the White House, the Department of Justice, local U.S. Attorneys, and other federal agencies. Away from the headlines, in most cases, attorneys general cooperate with federal agencies to carry out federal policy but in some cases and in some states attorneys general attempt to either challenge or prompt federal action. This section analyzes this complex and changing relationship.
For a brief overview see: James Tierney - State AG's and Fed Gt (YouTube)
And for how it all worked out, see: Grand Opening of the Durham Bridge Connecting Lisbon and Durham Maine
This Chapter also contains references to the concept of preemption in which the federal government tries to prevent state attorneys general from taking action. The areas of law where the federal and state governments differ are many, but this Chapter focuses on immigration policy.
For an entire semester on this topic see: Federalism and States as Public Law Actors, Harvard Law School
Note: Links to the readings below open in this window/tab in H20 Casebook. Use your browser’s “back” button to return to the syllabus.
- Speaker - Indiana Solicitor General Tom Fisher
- History of conflict – inaction v. preemption
- States Sue Over Acid Rain (Mar. 20, 1984)
- They Warned Us About the Mortgage Crisis
- Presidential Memorandum Regarding Preemption
- After Scaling Back Student Loan Regulations, Administration Tries to Stop State Efforts, New York Times (Sept 9, 2018)
- Dept of Education Preemption of State School Loan
- Pennsylvania v Navient (3d Cir 2020)
- State and federal cooperation
- Federal Judge Rules In Favor Of FTC Challenge To Sysco And US Foods Merger - Forbes
- DOJ files Google complaint
- Attorney General James Announces Bipartisan Antitrust Investigation Into Google Will Continue, New York State Attorney General
- The Justice Department has filed its antitrust lawsuit against Google, TechCrunch
- States sue President
- Multistate Actions Against the Fed Government, Website of Prof. Paul Nolette, Marquette University (For Reference)
- Texas vs. the Feds — A Look at the Lawsuits, Texas Tribune, Jan. 11, 2017
- Bob Ferguson Sued the Trump Administration 82 Times. What's He Going to Do Now? || chronline.com - Seattle Times, Nov. 14, 2020
- Potential backlash against States suing President