|
the intent. If we intend that the attorney
general shall be a lawyer and not an ad-
ministrator, I suggest that by adopting
this amendment we say that very clearly
in the constitution and thus limit the
power of the General Assembly to ever do
what we do not intend it to do, that is, to
make the attorney general an executive
officer, rather than a lawyer for the ex-
ecutive department.
I urge you to support the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Are there any ques-
tions of the sponsor of the amendment?
Delegate Sybert.
DELEGATE SYBERT: Mr. Chairman,
will the sponsor yield to a question?
THE CHAIRMAN: State the question.
DELEGATE SYBERT: This language
will be considerably more restrictive than
the other language with respect to other
matters. Would your amendment not re-
strict the right of the legislature to permit
or to require the attorney general to handle
a criminal case in which the state's at-
torney was the defendant, because that, it
would seem to me, would be pertaining
somewhat to a job of the state's atorney.
Would your amendment restrict the leg-
islature in that matter?
THE CHAIRMAN : Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: No, it
would not, because the language that im-
mediately preceeds this on the blue paper,
the Committee Recommendation, gives the
General Assembly the right to prescribe by
law the powers and duties of the attorney
general with respect to civil or criminal
cases or proceedings. An example which
you cite of a criminal case where the at-
torney general was the defendant, under
that section the General Assembly could
empower the attorney general to prosecute.
DELEGATE SYBERT: It is not your
purpose by this amendment to restrict the
power of the legislature.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: No, it is
not intended to restrict the full power of
the General Assembly to give the attorney
general full authority in a civil or criminal
case.
THE CHAIRMAN : Are there any other
question of the sponsors of the amendment?
Delegate Mason?
DELEGATE MASON: Delegate Bam-
berger, would your amendment restrict the
|
powers of the attorney general in investi-
gations?
THE CHAIRMAN : Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: No, Dele-
gate Mason, I take it that by investigations
you would mean investigations to ascertain
whether or not there was compliance with
laws of the State or administrative regu-
lation of agencies of the State and cer-
tainly that is the function of a lawyer and
the function of a chief legal officer of the
State.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mason, do
you have any further question?
DELEGATE MASON: Would this
amendment restrict the legislature from
prescribing duties to the attorney general
to coordinate and correlate the functions
and powers and duties of the state's at-
• torneys?
THE CHAIRMAN : Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: No, sir, be-
cause I think that one of the functions of
a chief legal officer is to — to use your word
— coordinate and supervise the legal busi-
ness of the State and part of that legal
business is the work of the prosecutor.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do you have any
further question, Delegate Mason?
Delegate Bennett?
DELEGATE BENNETT: May I ask a
question? Could, under this amendment, the
attorney general serve or could the gov-
ernor appoint him ex-officio to serve on a
study commission or on a board of regents
or governing the advisory commission?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Bamberger.
DELEGATE BAMBERGER: I think you
asked three different questions.
I would think if he desired to appoint
the attorney general to a study commission
this would not prohibit that because the
study commission would be merely an ad-
visory body and it would not be exercising
any part of the executive function of the
State. I think it would prohibit the gov-
ernor from appointing the attorney gen-
eral as a voting member, a policy making
member of such a body as the board of
regents or any other administrative agency
and that is part of its attention. It cer-
tainly would not prohibit the attorney gen-
eral from acting as a legal adviser or
counsellor for such an administrative
agency but I do not believe that a lawyer
|
