AG offers insights into job
Toolbox
By Alan J. Keays Herald Staff - Published: April 29, 2006
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell said when he argued a case recently before the nation's highest court he went prepared, armed with words of advice from colleagues and friends.
Sorrell spoke Friday in Rutland, delivering an Osher Lifelong Learning lecture at the Godnick Adult Center. About 50 people attended the event.
"I was wondering, what is Justice (Antonin) Scalia like up close?" a woman in the crowd asked Sorrell.
"Well, he's a little intimidating," Sorrell replied. "I was prepared for Justice Scalia to be very tough and scathing."
In addition to providing information on the role of the state's attorney general, Sorrell spoke of his experience arguing his first case before the nation's highest court on Feb. 28 in defense of Vermont's campaign financing law, the strictest in the nation.
The law, passed in 1997, set limits of campaign contributions for statewide candidates at $400 for statewide candidates. It also limits campaign expenditures and provides for a system of public financing.
Shortly after arguing that case, Sorrell said he stayed in the courtroom to hear arguments in another, more-headline grabbing case involving former Playboy model's Anna Nicole Smith's long-running legal battle of her late husband's multi-million dollar estate.
Sorrell said he spent more than three months preparing the legal arguments for his case, including presenting his arguments to moot courts and taking feedback from those playing the roles of U.S. Supreme Court justices.
He also received a tip from a friend on a how to handle Scalia, if he became a little too feisty in his line of questioning. "He said, 'Listen, don't let Justice Scalia get his teeth into you,'" Sorrell recalled.
Then the attorney general said he was told if Scalia does ask him a tough question that may be a bit too pointed, the best thing to do is to look away after giving the answer.
"If you keep looking at Justice Scalia, he'll keep having you for lunch," Sorrell said the friend told him.
However, Sorrell said, he never had to act on that advice. "He was really well-behaved," the attorney general said of the conservative justice. "I don't know if he was really concentrating on the Anna Nicole Smith case or if he was just feeling sorry for me."
Sorrell has served as the state's attorney general since May 1, 1997. Prior to that he served in the administration of former Gov. Howard Dean, served as Chittenden County state's attorney and also worked in private law practice.
He told those in attendance Friday at the Godnick Adult Center that he enjoyed his role as attorney general, the state's top law enforcement post.
"It's the biggest law firm in the state," Sorrell said of the attorney general's office, staffed by about 70 assistant state attorney general positions.
He said his office is responsible not only for prosecuting criminal law but also violations of the state's environmental laws. In addition, the attorney general's office defends lawsuits brought against the state, he said.
Sorrell said the post of attorney general does not always generate the most media attention, and not everyone in the state even knows who holds the position.
He told of a time he had traveled to Brattleboro to march in the annual Fourth of July holiday parade and asked a person to sign his nominating papers in his bid for re-election for another term as attorney general. "You bet I'll sign," Sorrell said the man he approached told him. "You've got to be better than the guy who's in there now."
However, Sorrell said he got the last laugh.
"He signed the petition," the attorney general said, adding that he went on to win re-election for another two-year term.
Contact Alan J. Keays at alan.keays@rutlandherald.com.
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