Dustin McDaniel’s Frivolous Legal Judgment

June 29, 2012
McD Lawyer

Different people will have different reactions to yesterday’s Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the White House health care plan; I tend to think that, here in Arkansas, the decision should be highly embarrassing for our Attorney General, Dustin McDaniel. In 2010, McDaniel refused to join a lawsuit from 26 other states challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare.  In a March 30, 2010 interview with the Washington Post, McDaniel said that “I would be abusing my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel, Gallery, Health Care Reform Tagged With: , , , , ,

Weekend Reading! Report on ‘Unholy Alliance’ Between AGs, Litigation Industry

November 4, 2011
An unholy alliance

The conservative Manhattan Institute has a new report out (OK, couple weeks old, relatively new, whatever) focusing on the "unholy alliance" between state attorneys general and "the litigation industry" (private personal-injury lawyers, dubbed "Trial Lawyers, Inc." in the report title). Are AGs and trial attorneys "in bed" with each other, the report asks? Indubitably, the report answers. Oh, man, AGs and trial attorneys, you gotta keep an eye these guys!: In fact, our state attorneys … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel Tagged With: , , , ,

NYT: Backpage.com Adult Ads Are Free Speech, Dude

October 31, 2011
Backpage confidential

I posted before on the effort by attorneys general around the nation, including Arkansas' own Dustin McDaniel, to force the online classified operation Backpage.com to shut down their "Adult Services" ad section. That section features ads for escorts, body rubs and other things that just sound amazing. However, the AGs beg to differ: they say the "Adult Services" section facilitates prostitution and sex trafficking. Uh oh! Previously, Backpage.com fired back with a feisty 10-page letter … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel Tagged With: , , ,

McDaniel Makes Right Move on Settlement Funds

October 20, 2011
Dustin McDaniel

When public officials make mistakes, they deserve criticism. When public officials do the right thing, they deserve praise. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel did the right thing recently, when he announced a revised policy on the distribution of class action settlement funds. It's a move that deserves commendation. Let's back up: This summer, McDaniel came under criticism, from this site and other media outlets, for directing funds awarded to the state from class action settlements … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Backpage.com Responds on AG Prostitution, Sexploitation Crackdown

September 29, 2011
Dustin McDaniel and friend

Back in August, Arkansas Attorney General (AG) Dustin McDaniel commanded a little newspaper ink for signing a letter with several dozen other AGs questioning the web advertising outfit Backpage.com's "Adult" section. Specifically, the AGs accused Backpage.com of failing to "effectively limit prostitution and sexual trafficking" on the site. The full letter is here (PDF). If you're the type of person who sits around thinking, "Hey, whatever happened with that?", well, I've got news for you. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel Tagged With: , , , , ,

Dept. of Moot Points: Here Is That Attorney General’s Opinion on the Arkansas Higher Ed Post

September 12, 2011
Shane Broadway: BMOC? Eh, not quite.

Your state attorney general, Dustin McDaniel, was tidying up around the office and came across that long-awaited AG's opinion on the qualifications of former Sen. Shane Broadway to serve as director of the Dept. of Higher Education. (More background here.) Here is McDaniel's opinion (opens as PDF), furnished in response to a request from state Reps. Allen Kerr and Jane English, which sidesteps offering a definitive answer to the question but does arrive at this conclusion: ...any person who … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Republicans, Atty. General Dustin McDaniel, Gov. Mike Beebe Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Broadway Malady: GOP Lawmakers Still Waiting on AG Higher Ed Opinion

September 7, 2011
waiting_game

Hey, remember way back in July when a pair of  state legislators asked Attorney General Dustin McDaniel for a legal opinion on whether former state Sen. Shane Broadway was statutorily qualified to serve as director of the Arkansas Dept. of Higher Education? Come on, think back.... Remember that? So do Republicans Reps. Allen Kerr and Jane English, the aforementioned lawmakers who requested the opinion. Here we are some six weeks later and they wanna know, "Hey, where's that opinion?" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arkansas Democrats, Arkansas Legislature, Arkansas Republicans, Atty. General Dustin McDaniel, Education Reform, Gov. Mike Beebe Tagged With: , , , ,

The $60,000 Question: How Dustin McDaniel Spends Legal Settlement Funds

July 19, 2011
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel spent $60,000 on self-promoting PSA's and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.

When we last left Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, questions abounded over his use of state legal settlement funds. The short of it: McDaniel's office collects lots of money from legal settlements. The AG then turns around and doles that money out to selected good causes that, by coincidence, benefit him politically. Many believe McDaniel’s awarding funds to such projects, selected and approved by him and him alone, is highly questionable, unaccountable and inappropriate. And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Atty. General Dustin McDaniel Tagged With: , ,
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