AND THE PING PONG CONTINUES AS THE LG RESPONDS TO THE TREASURER WHO HAD RESPONDED TO THE LG WHO WAS RESPONDING TO THE AG -- THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, STILL, 1/8/16, 4:15PM:
"The Treasurer has a history of questionable decision making and inaccurate statements. His recent comments are no exception."
THE TREASURER RESPONDS TO THE LG WHO WAS RESPONDING TO THE AG -- THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, 1/8/16, 9:30 AM:
“I am outraged at Mr. Hutchison’s statement which borders on pure fantasy.”
“To say that he is acting pro bono is ludicrous. Mr. Hutchison is using this political stunt as a lever to raise thousands of dollars for his next political campaign. The rest of his statement is equally disingenuous. The Attorney General and I are already giving Nevada families a voice and have been doing so for the past seven months. Mr. Hutchison was nowhere to be seen during the many public hearings we held or at the three court appearances that have already taken place.
“Mr. Hutchison says he ‘communicated with the Attorney General’ before he filed his suit. He did—15 minutes ahead of time. The legal theory underlying Mr. Hutchison’s lawsuit is also a total invention. Mr. Hutchison bases his lawsuit on a statute which is barely relevant. Even if it were, the Lieutenant Governor fails to meet the requirements set by the Nevada Supreme Court. Finally, Mr. Hutchison has the nerve to invoke the judicial process to justify his actions, by claiming that ‘a judge, not a politician, will now decide the issue.’ Mr. Hutchison’s behavior is pure politics. It perverts the Attorney General’s hard work in defending Nevada’s parents’ right to see their children get a good education.
“If the Lieutenant Governor really cared about Nevada families, he would end this charade and withdraw his lawsuit immediately.”
THE GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN (SORT OF), 6:45 AM, 1/8/16:
“The Governor has always believed it was in the best interest of the state and Nevada’s education system to avoid costly legal battles by seeking an expedited hearing and, if necessary, a final ruling by the Supreme Court. Students, parents, educators, and the state need finality in order to move forward and pursue the opportunities that provide the best path to success for the generations to come. The courts will decide which legal strategy is appropriate but for now we must all remain focused on the goal of securing school choice Nevada families.”
UPDATED BELOW WITH HUTCHISON STATEMENT/AND THEN LAXALT RESPONSE
In an astonishing legal brief filed today, Attorney General Adam Laxalt accuses Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison of lawyerly misbehavior and asks a judge to dismiss a school choice lawsuit Hutchison filed over the holidays.
The motion to dismiss, which you can see below, arises because Laxalt believes Hutchison not only has a conflict because of previous representations but because the lieutenant governor, whom he asked twice to withdraw, is muddying the school choice lawsuit waters. (Laxalt already is defending the state against two suits, and he has retained a bigfoot national lawyer to help.)
In a statement today, Laxalt pulled no punches:
“The lawsuit brought by the Hutchison firm endangers the State's ongoing defense of the Education Savings Account program, intended to benefit Nevada’s schoolchildren and parents,” said Laxalt. “My office believes that the suit does nothing but distract and divide the State’s efforts to defend the program from the two real challenges to the ESA program which lawyers in my office have been working non-stop to brief, argue and defend. Just as I have requested in a private conversation with Mark Hutchison, I am now publicly asking that his firm voluntarily and immediately withdraw this lawsuit. In the meantime, I will continue to dedicate all necessary resources toward defending the program and to defeating any lawsuit like this one that could delay its implementation. Thousands of Nevada’s families are counting on the program to be realized and the Attorney General's office will continue its fight to make that a reality.”
About all he doesn't say is: "This is an obvious attempt by Hutchison to get his name in the paper on this issue as part of his campaign for governor." (A job Laxalt may want someday, too, which someone will point out. Oh, I think someone just did.)
Laxalt essentially says that Hutchison, while representing the Institute for Justice in an earlier case, received confidential information from the attorney general's office and is now blatantly behaving in an unethical manner:
"Now Hutchison has turned around and sued the very party with whom it shares a joint-defense obligation relating to lawsuits. Worse, Hutchison has brought this suit without regard to how it might prejudce its former clients, the intervening parents in two other ESA suits, suits in which a decision is shortly expected. (A hearing was held this week!) Allowing the instant litigation to proceed under these circumstances, especially absent any material adversity between the parties in this case, would seriously undermine the integrity of and the public's confidence in the judical system."
I have reached out to Hutchison's government and legal offices for comment. Will append if and when....
UPDATE: HERE'S THE STATEMENT:
“My law firm is representing Nevada families pro bono who are asking for a quick resolution to the Education Savings Account (ESA) dispute because they run out of the money they budgeted to fund their children’s education in February,” said Mark Hutchison. “We are giving these families a voice. They relied on their accounts being funded when they enrolled their children in school this past fall.”
"I communicated with the Attorney General before the lawsuit was filed and he expressed no concern at the time. I spoke with him personally again, at his request; after the lawsuit was filed and told him, I intended to seek an expedited court ruling for my clients' benefit. It is troubling and disappointing that he is now trying to delay the lawsuit intended to determine if families who applied for ESA can count on state funding."
“I look forward to responding to the Attorney General’s motion to dismiss and presenting oral arguments before the court, which I intend to do personally. I invite Attorney General Laxalt to personally do the same. A judge, not a politician, will now decide the issue.”
And Laxalt responded:
"Mark Hutchison notified me minutes before he sued the Treasurer on December 22. It was a fait accompli. He did not ask for my advice, nor did he provide my office with the actual lawsuit until after it was filed. Mark Hutchison knows this."
"My Office treated the lawsuit like it does every other suit against the state and state officials. We carefully analyzed it. And after concluding that this suit could only hurt the State’s interests in timely resolution of the real ESA challenges, we repeatedly communicated that to Mr. Hutchison—including as late as today."
"The Lieutenant Governor of Nevada sued the State of Nevada and our client, the Nevada Treasurer. It is the job of the Office of the Attorney General to defend the Treasurer, the State and the State's legal interests. We are doing that; we are doing our job. Notwithstanding Hutchison’s attempt to turn this into a political show, my Office will continue to treat this lawsuit just as it has treated every threat to Nevada’s ESA program."
Treasurer Dan Schwartz, whose to aide, Grant Hewitt, has an affidavit attached to the Laxalt motion, weighed in with an evisceration of the lieutenant governor:
“The unanswered question is, what is Mr. Hutchison thinking? As the Attorney General’s brief indicates, Mr. Hutchison has potentially committed serious ethical violations beyond the purely legal arguments that his lawsuit could well undermine the AG’s defense in the two lawsuits already filed.
“We can only guess that Mr. Hutchison has motives ulterior to helping Nevada parents who want a better education for their children. Does he think that he can do a better job representing the State than Attorney General Laxalt? Is he running for another political office? Does he believe that filing an ESA lawsuit will benefit his fundraising efforts? All good questions—all without apparent answers.”
I've covered Nevada politics for almost 30 years. I have never seen anything like this.
Some days I like my job. Other days I love my job. Today, I really love my job.
AND THE PING PONG CONTINUES AS THE LG RESPONDS TO THE TREASURER WHO HAD RESPONDED TO THE LG WHO WAS RESPONDING TO THE AG -- THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, STILL, 1/8/16, 4:15PM:
"The Treasurer has a history of questionable decision making and inaccurate statements. His recent comments are no exception."
THE TREASURER RESPONDS TO THE LG WHO WAS RESPONDING TO THE AG -- THIS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, 1/8/16, 9:30 AM:
“I am outraged at Mr. Hutchison’s statement which borders on pure fantasy.”
“To say that he is acting pro bono is ludicrous. Mr. Hutchison is using this political stunt as a lever to raise thousands of dollars for his next political campaign. The rest of his statement is equally disingenuous. The Attorney General and I are already giving Nevada families a voice and have been doing so for the past seven months. Mr. Hutchison was nowhere to be seen during the many public hearings we held or at the three court appearances that have already taken place.
“Mr. Hutchison says he ‘communicated with the Attorney General’ before he filed his suit. He did—15 minutes ahead of time. The legal theory underlying Mr. Hutchison’s lawsuit is also a total invention. Mr. Hutchison bases his lawsuit on a statute which is barely relevant. Even if it were, the Lieutenant Governor fails to meet the requirements set by the Nevada Supreme Court. Finally, Mr. Hutchison has the nerve to invoke the judicial process to justify his actions, by claiming that ‘a judge, not a politician, will now decide the issue.’ Mr. Hutchison’s behavior is pure politics. It perverts the Attorney General’s hard work in defending Nevada’s parents’ right to see their children get a good education.
“If the Lieutenant Governor really cared about Nevada families, he would end this charade and withdraw his lawsuit immediately.”
THE GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN (SORT OF), 6:45 AM, 1/8/16:
“The Governor has always believed it was in the best interest of the state and Nevada’s education system to avoid costly legal battles by seeking an expedited hearing and, if necessary, a final ruling by the Supreme Court. Students, parents, educators, and the state need finality in order to move forward and pursue the opportunities that provide the best path to success for the generations to come. The courts will decide which legal strategy is appropriate but for now we must all remain focused on the goal of securing school choice Nevada families.”
UPDATED BELOW WITH HUTCHISON STATEMENT/AND THEN LAXALT RESPONSE
In an astonishing legal brief filed today, Attorney General Adam Laxalt accuses Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison of lawyerly misbehavior and asks a judge to dismiss a school choice lawsuit Hutchison filed over the holidays.
The motion to dismiss, which you can see below, arises because Laxalt believes Hutchison not only has a conflict because of previous representations but because the lieutenant governor, whom he asked twice to withdraw, is muddying the school choice lawsuit waters. (Laxalt already is defending the state against two suits, and he has retained a bigfoot national lawyer to help.)
In a statement today, Laxalt pulled no punches:
“The lawsuit brought by the Hutchison firm endangers the State's ongoing defense of the Education Savings Account program, intended to benefit Nevada’s schoolchildren and parents,” said Laxalt. “My office believes that the suit does nothing but distract and divide the State’s efforts to defend the program from the two real challenges to the ESA program which lawyers in my office have been working non-stop to brief, argue and defend. Just as I have requested in a private conversation with Mark Hutchison, I am now publicly asking that his firm voluntarily and immediately withdraw this lawsuit. In the meantime, I will continue to dedicate all necessary resources toward defending the program and to defeating any lawsuit like this one that could delay its implementation. Thousands of Nevada’s families are counting on the program to be realized and the Attorney General's office will continue its fight to make that a reality.”
About all he doesn't say is: "This is an obvious attempt by Hutchison to get his name in the paper on this issue as part of his campaign for governor." (A job Laxalt may want someday, too, which someone will point out. Oh, I think someone just did.)
Laxalt essentially says that Hutchison, while representing the Institute for Justice in an earlier case, received confidential information from the attorney general's office and is now blatantly behaving in an unethical manner:
"Now Hutchison has turned around and sued the very party with whom it shares a joint-defense obligation relating to lawsuits. Worse, Hutchison has brought this suit without regard to how it might prejudce its former clients, the intervening parents in two other ESA suits, suits in which a decision is shortly expected. (A hearing was held this week!) Allowing the instant litigation to proceed under these circumstances, especially absent any material adversity between the parties in this case, would seriously undermine the integrity of and the public's confidence in the judical system."
I have reached out to Hutchison's government and legal offices for comment. Will append if and when....
UPDATE: HERE'S THE STATEMENT:
“My law firm is representing Nevada families pro bono who are asking for a quick resolution to the Education Savings Account (ESA) dispute because they run out of the money they budgeted to fund their children’s education in February,” said Mark Hutchison. “We are giving these families a voice. They relied on their accounts being funded when they enrolled their children in school this past fall.”
"I communicated with the Attorney General before the lawsuit was filed and he expressed no concern at the time. I spoke with him personally again, at his request; after the lawsuit was filed and told him, I intended to seek an expedited court ruling for my clients' benefit. It is troubling and disappointing that he is now trying to delay the lawsuit intended to determine if families who applied for ESA can count on state funding."
“I look forward to responding to the Attorney General’s motion to dismiss and presenting oral arguments before the court, which I intend to do personally. I invite Attorney General Laxalt to personally do the same. A judge, not a politician, will now decide the issue.”
And Laxalt responded:
Treasurer Dan Schwartz, whose to aide, Grant Hewitt, has an affidavit attached to the Laxalt motion, weighed in with an evisceration of the lieutenant governor:
“The unanswered question is, what is Mr. Hutchison thinking? As the Attorney General’s brief indicates, Mr. Hutchison has potentially committed serious ethical violations beyond the purely legal arguments that his lawsuit could well undermine the AG’s defense in the two lawsuits already filed.
“We can only guess that Mr. Hutchison has motives ulterior to helping Nevada parents who want a better education for their children. Does he think that he can do a better job representing the State than Attorney General Laxalt? Is he running for another political office? Does he believe that filing an ESA lawsuit will benefit his fundraising efforts? All good questions—all without apparent answers.”
I've covered Nevada politics for almost 30 years. I have never seen anything like this.
Some days I like my job. Other days I love my job. Today, I really love my job.
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