To wit, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office joined Texas in a lawsuit against federal water oversight rules and joined 46 states in asking a state court to order TikTok to produce records in a state investigation. Wold said he’s making decisions on what cases to join based on the values of the state of Idaho, which he said include natural resources and dealing with Idaho’s burgeoning tech industry. In the meantime, he said he’s working with the civil litigation division of the Attorney General’s Office on cases. He’s hired a chief deputy, Josh Turner, who’s representing Idaho in the Texas lawsuit over water regulations, and he’s working on hiring three attorneys. Wold said his goal is to have a total of five attorneys in the solicitor general’s office, including him, a chief deputy and three attorneys. Supreme Court’s now-famous Heller decision. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, rose to prominence as the Texas solicitor general who successfully defended Texas law that expanded the Second Amendment and was enshrined in the U.S. A solicitor general is typically the top appellate advocate for the state, defending state laws in state and federal courts.ĭuring the campaign, Labrador said he was bringing back the solicitor general position to prepare cases for trial and navigate the federal court system with the goal of winning cases if they are appealed. Labrador revived the position of solicitor general, a position Idaho used to have and several other states still do. The bill never made it out of committee, but pieces of that legislation, such as eliminating student ID, are making their way back through the Legislature this session. That bill would have eliminated voter affidavit verifying identity at the polls on Election Day, eliminated student IDs as an acceptable form of ID to vote and eliminated Idaho’s same-day voter registration option at the polls. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, on an elections restriction bill in the 2022 session, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also served as deputy chief counsel to U.S. Wold, who has a law degree from Notre Dame, held multiple positions in the Trump administration, as acting assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, and as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Wold was appointed in November by Attorney General Ra úl Labrador after Labrador defeated longtime incumbent Lawrence Wasden in the November election. Wold said that although he may not be the signing attorney on filings or arguing on behalf of the state in a courtroom, he’s actively working with the office’s attorneys on crafting legal arguments.įinally, he said he’s spending a lot of time during the legislative session with legislators, answering questions and giving feedback on legislation to avoid court challenges. He said he’s evaluating those requests as they come in, communicating with other offices across the country and determining what’s the best use of the Idaho Attorney General office’s resources. Wold said he has been reviewing 10-15 requests a day to join a legal case, file an amicus brief or sign on to an oversight letter to a state or federal agency. He answered my questions about his license to practice law in Idaho, his job duties and the makeup and role of the solicitor general’s office. Wold and I had a wide-ranging conversation Thursday. Not that I think $158,000 is a huge amount for an attorney, but it’s fair to ask from a taxpayer perspective whether we should be paying that much money to the second highest-ranking lawyer in state government who can’t even practice law in Idaho. The issue is relevant, especially since the Attorney General’s Office is asking for 11% raises for attorneys and staff, according to Idaho Capital Sun reporter Clark Corbin, who also reported that Wold’s salary is $158,000 a year.
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