King of New Mexico
Pay-to-sue redux.
Editorial
The Wall Street Journal
May 30, 2009
The office of New Mexico Attorney General Gary King confirmed last week that Mr. King has joined a nationwide state attorney general task force on pension fund pay-to-play practices. Anyone who's been following our recent editorials on Mr. King will appreciate the irony.
Mr. King is one of several state AGs who have hired outside law firms on a contingency fee basis to sue companies on behalf of the state. Plaintiffs attorneys shop these lawsuits around to state and local government officials as no-risk propositions. The law firms agree to front all litigation costs and only get paid if they win or settle the case. But the public officials get campaign contributions from law firms hoping to secure business with the state. The problem is that defendants are supposed to have a right to due process. When states hire private lawyers to do the government's business, and give them a financial stake in the outcome, it compromises prosecutorial neutrality.
