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Bill would require AG to defend Va. Constitution
Bill would require AG to defend Va. ConstitutionMonday, Jan. 19, 2015 by Ashley Jordan, Capital News Service
A Republican legislator from Williamsburg is pushing for a law to require the state attorney general to defend the Virginia Constitution – which the current officeholder, Democrat Mark Herring, declined to do regarding the commonwealth’s ban on same-sex marriage.
House Bill 1573, which was proposed last week by Del. Brenda Pogge, would add this passage to state law:
“Except in cases where it would be improper for the Attorney General’s office to render legal services due to a conflict of interests, the Attorney General has the duty to represent the interests of the Commonwealth in any proceeding in which the constitutionality or validity of a provision of the Constitution of Virginia or of any law or regulation of the Commonwealth is contested or at issue.”
The bill is in response to Herring’s decision last January not to contest a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.
