The office of Attorney General should not be a political tool. The Attorney General should be independent: objective.

In 1997 the Vermont Legislature amended its restrictive election campaign finance law, and created a new one to take its place. This new election law was so much more restrictive of campaign contributions and expenditures that several different organizations immediately appealed to the Federal Court, maintaining that this new law in effect denied them their Constitutional Right to free speech.

In Federal District Court, Judge William Sessions agreed, and ruled that the sections of the new law, post 1997, pertaining to campaign donations and expenditures did, indeed, violate the 1st. Amendment of the US Constitution; and were thus null and void.

At the request of the Legislature, and without regard to the merits of the case, Bill Sorrell appealed that decision. In the nine years it has taken for this case to wind it's way through the Federal Court system, Bill Sorrell lost every step of the way. Throughout this long and costly process, the old, repealed, pre 1997, campaign finance limitations were still being applied, illegally.

Finally, We the People paid the salaries and all related expenses for Bill Sorrell to go to Washington D.C. and plead his case before the highest court of appeals. Without surprise, the Supreme Court told Sorrell the same thing Judge Sessions, and every Court in between had already told him: NO to the two sections of the post 1997 law pertaining to campaign contributions and spending.

Now, Bill Sorrell, and the equally political Secretary of State, Deb Markowitz, are attempting to create law to maintain their fallback position: the old, repealed, law must be adhered to. They are relying on a "concept" that "the old law was never replaced."

Unfortunately, they are overlooking another "concept": severalty. Throwing out two sections of the LAW, does not invalidate the remainder of that law. The law is in place, and in effect. The "new" law simply does not have a campaign donation or spending cap. The legislature may amend the law at any time it wishes. It has already had nine years to do so if it had wished.

Rest assured, as Attorney General, I will not prosecute anyone for "violating" a statute which was repealed nine years earlier.

This case is a classic example of our dysfunctional legal system, and some of the people who have made it dysfunctional. When the Attorney General issues a ruling like this, even without the collusion of the Secretary of State, the only way to overturn the ruling is by the Supreme Court, which is impossible in this climate. The majority of the Vermont Supreme Court has refused to take their Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution.

Dennis Carver
Republican for Attorney General