Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Appellate Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Attorney general says appellate unit needs extra positions amid surge in federal litigation
Summary
The attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the office's appellate unit, which currently has two lawyers handling statewide appellate work, needs additional staff to respond to a surge of federal litigation tied to recent presidential actions.
The attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 5 that her office is seeking additional appellate staff after an unusually heavy surge of federal cases required "night and day" work from the agency's small appellate unit.
"The appellate unit who handles this work in my office has 2 lawyers, the solicitor general, the deputy solicitor general. They are literally working night and day around the clock on the weekends," the attorney general said, describing the workload and asking the committee to anticipate a personnel request. She said the office has roughly the same total number of attorneys as in the prior administration — "a hundred lawyers, maybe it's 99 lawyers or a hundred including me" — but that appellate staffing remains small.
The attorney general told senators the recent federal litigation has required additional appellate defenses and new suits against federal actions; she said the office has filed multiple suits in the preceding two weeks. "We have to sue twice," she said, adding that the current workload is heavier than past cycles and that the office had not budgeted in advance for staffing at this level because election outcomes are uncertain.
Committee members asked about comparative staffing levels and budget implications. The attorney general said she would provide specific staffing numbers and more detailed information to appropriations as the office prepares a formal request. She also told the committee she had received strong constituent support for the office's litigation work, saying staff had received dozens of supportive emails in recent weeks.
No formal personnel request or committee action occurred during the hearing; the attorney general characterized this exchange as an initial notice that the office will seek additional positions and said she would provide fuller documentation to the Appropriations Committee.
The Committee recessed after the discussion and moved on to subsequent agenda items.
