Lautenschlager and Bach: "The Citizen's Advocate: A Perspective on the Historical and Continuing Role of State Attorneys General"
ACS released an issue brief entitled "The Citizen's Advocate: A Perspective on the Historical and Continuing Role of State Attorneys General" by Peggy A. Lautenschlager, former Wisconsin Attorney General, and Daniel P. Bach, former Wisconsin Deputy Attorney General.
The brief explains that state attorneys general who have sometimes been accused of "activism" are in fact exercising their legitimate authority in areas traditionally reserved to the states or where concurrent federal/state enforcement authority exists to serve the citizenry they represent.
Lautenschlager and Bach conclude:
There is little doubt that the efforts by state attorneys general to enforce the law, through both criminal and civil proceedings, are having a substantial – and positive – impact on business conduct, civil rights protections and the public welfare. Those whose interests may be threatened by these efforts sometimes attack them as “activism.”
However, upon closer inspection, the conduct that is attacked is no more than the exercise by state attorneys general of their lawful authority to do exactly what public servants in their position ought to do: protect law-abiding businesses from unfair advantages obtained by law-breaking competitors; recover taxpayer and consumer dollars from those marketing dangerous products or engaging in fraudulent conduct; and safeguard the rights, interests and health of citizens. Performing these functions is not “activism” in the pejorative sense intended by critics; it is the proactive fulfillment of the traditional duty of attorneys general to enforce the law.
The brief is available here.