Although more than 70 percent of likely voters polled said they knew little about either of the candidates for attorney general, the office of attorney general is extremely powerful. The Nov. 4 election for attorney general will determine the individual who will advise the state on legal matters and who will defend state law if it comes to trial. Obviously, the individual who is elected to this position should be someone that is going to defend all passed laws in the state of Wisconsin. However, one of the candidates running for this position does not believe this.
The attorney general’s race is between Democrat Susan Happ and Republican Brad Schimel. Both candidates seem qualified in terms of their backgrounds and work experience. Happ is a major prosecutor in Jefferson County and Schimel is Waukesha County’s district attorney. These are both prominent legal positions which give both individuals justification for their run for attorney general. But, how are they going to approach the position of attorney general? This is a quintessential difference between Happ and Schimel. Happ has claimed that when she personally does not agree with a law, she will not defend it. In contrast, Schimel has stated that although some laws might not be to his liking, he would fight for them because they were passed by the legislature and it is his duty to fight for them as attorney general.
Although important, this race has a large percentage of undecided voters. According to Wisconsin Election Watch, 19 percent of voters in Marquette’s mid-October poll reported that they were undecided. The attorney general, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as, “the chief law officer of a nation or state who represents the government in litigation and serves as its principal legal adviser.” This is a very unique elected office because this individual does not define and create the laws, rather he or she enforces them and represents them in court.
As the office is defined, it is the attorney general’s job to defend the law. On a personal level these individuals are more than welcome to voice their opinions, but it is not within the confines of their job for their personal opinions to dictate which laws they will and will not enforce.
While it is normative and justified to disagree with a law, it is not within the boundaries of attorney general to take personal opinions and apply them in the position. The individuals within the state legislative and executive branches are the people who may actively advocate opinions on the laws as they decide whether or not to pass them. Before the law is passed, the attorney general is able to give legal opinions to these individuals, but after the law has been passed, it is their job to enforce the law regardless of their personal views. If the person who is attorney general has personal opinions on the law, then they are better suited for a position in the assembly or the state senate, in which they can write laws and assist in passing or voting against laws.
Furthermore, the office of attorney general is a major actor in maintaining the checks and balances set up of our political system. By enforcing the laws and representing them in court this individual is allowing the judicial branch to serve the purpose of checking the laws. The judges are the ones whose opinion matters in this case. In this scenario the attorney general is to fight for the state not for their own opinions.
The bottom line in electing the attorney general is not to which party they belong, which group endorsed them or which side of the law the individuals sat on in court. It is about who will do their best to enforce the laws which our legislature and our governor have chosen to pass.
The attorney general’s oath is about standing up for the laws it is not about personal opinions on constitutionality. If Happ wants to inject her opinions into the law, then she is running for the wrong office. The attorney general does not make laws they simply enforce them. Vote for the individual who will swear the oath of office and follow through. Vote for Schimel.
Amy Hasenberg ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in political science with a certificate in African studies.
