Governor Brewer letter to Attorney General Terry Goddard

Governor Brewer has sent the following letter to Attorney General Goddard regarding his legal conflict. Attached and below are samples of the Attorney General’s public statements about his opposition to the law as well as his own comments on his inability to defend it.
06-14-10LettertoAttorneyGeneral

While the legislation was pending, the Attorney General Goddard referred to SB 1070 as “troubling” and expressed his opinion that “it may have civil rights implications”. Only Joe Knows, Nat’l J.: The Hotline, April 19, 2010.

In an interview with the New York Times, the Attorney General referred to SB 1070 as a “tragic mistake”. John Schwartz & Randal C. Archibold, News Analysis – A Law Facing a Tough Road Through the Courts, N.Y. Times, April 27, 2010, at A17. A month later, the Attorney General reiterated his opposition again, saying “he, personally, still opposes Arizona’s immigration law . . . .” Jonathan Clark, Despite personal opposition, Goddard set to defend SB 1070, Nogales Int., May 21, 2010.

The Attorney General even said he would have vetoed SB 1070 had he been Governor. Mary K. Reinhart, Goddard fights to defend immigration law he opposes, Ariz. Guardian, June 6, 2010.

Not surprisingly, the Attorney General conceded that his opposition to SB 1070 would preclude him from defending the bill in court. On April 22, 2010, in referring to a potential lawsuit, the Attorney General said, “I will be screened because of my personal opposition to it,” and that he would abstain from all involvement and delegate his authority to other attorneys in his office. News Notes and Gossip, Arizona Capitol Reports: Yellow Sheet Report, April 22, 2010.

The following week Deputy Attorney General Greg Stanton stated, “[Attorney General Goddard] will likely not be involved in the litigation because of his position in opposition to the bill.” Alia Beard Rau & Ginger Rough, 3 lawsuits challenge legality of new law, Ariz. Republic, April 30, 2010, at B1.

On May 27, 2010, the Attorney General said that he and the Governor “might have divergent opinions about how to best enter a defense” in the lawsuits challenging SB 1070, when explaining why he would not appear on behalf of the Governor in Frisancho v. Brewer, et al., No. CV10-00926-PHX-SRB, a separate challenge to SB 1070 in this court, in which the Governor and Attorney General are named as the only defendants.

Howard Fischer, Governor creates legal defense fund for SB 1070, Verde Independent, May 27, 2010. According to the New York Times, the Attorney General also said “he would probably recuse himself, and enlist [University of Missouri Kansas City Law Professor Kris Kobach] for the defense.” Id.