Often during post-screening discussions around the country, audiences ask “What’s going on now days in Prince William County?”  This week’s development is the most interesting one since the “Probable Cause” mandate for immigration status checks was repealed in April of 2008.  Virginia political blogger Lowell Feld broke the story on Blue Virginia, but I know at least three other journalists who received copies of the previously unknown documents at the center of the storm.

First, some background.  Second, Lowell’s blog.  Third, my comments.

Background:
Earlier this year, Chairman Corey A. Stewart, one of the main subjects in 9500 Liberty, picked up the “immigration banner” again, inspired by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s successful exploitation of immigration anxiety, rescuing herself from dismal approval ratings and a certain defeat in the Republican primary.  Stewart, who himself faces reelection this coming November, has created a website, a Facebook fan page, and political action committee in order to lobby the Virginia General Assembly to enact a statewide version of Arizona’s S.B. 1070, much the way Greg Letiecq, another main character in our film, lobbied Stewart and the Board of Supervisors in Prince William County in 2007.

Today, a legal assessment issued by the Virginia Attorney General’s office was leaked to certain media sources.  The document is harshly critical of Chairman Stewart’s “Rule of Law” legislation.  The rumor was that Virginia state office holders, including many Republicans, were not pleased with Stewart’s unorthodox maneuver to effectively introduce legislation in a body to which he has not been elected.  Now, that displeasure has been confirmed.
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Here is the “Blue Virginia” blog that broke the story:

Stunner: Cooch’s Office Rips Corey Stewart’s “Rule of Law” Resolution to Shreds by: lowkell Wed Nov 24, 2010 at 14:33:16 PM EST

Earlier today, I was forwarded a copy of an analysis by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office on Prince William County’s anti-”illegal immigrant,” so-called “Rule of Law” resolution. What I expected to see was a bunch of “absolutely correct” and “brilliant legal reasoning!” from our right-wing nutjob Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli. Instead, what Cooch’s office issued was the exact opposite – a blistering critique that essentially rips PW County chair Corey Stewart and Company’s “Rule of Law” resolution to shreds.See here for a side-by-side matrix that quotes on the left from Corey Stewart’s “Rule of Law” resolution, and states on the right what Cooch’s office thinks of it. I asked a smart Virginia Democratic attorney friend of mine what he thought, and here’s what he wrote: Basically, the OAG analysis systematically and methodically tears to shreds what Stewart is proposing–for different kinds of reasons. Sometimes, the OAG tears it to shreds because the powers it is trying to grant already exist under Virginia or Federal law. (As a substantive policy matter, the fact that the powers already exist may not be a good thing, but OAG is pointing out that Stewart is so dumb he didn’t realize these powers already exist.)Sometimes, the OAG tears it because the powers it is trying to grant risk being struck down as violations of the U.S. Constitution. (Again, making Stewart look dumb for sponsoring something that raises such problems.) So, my take is that Cooch views Stewart as a political rival whom he doesn’t want to see grow any more in stature, and so Cooch is using his OAG office to kneecap Stewart.

I agree 100% with that brilliant analysis, so I’ll just add a few choice quotes (on the “flip”) from Cooch’s opinion, and leave it at that. Enjoy the shredding! (also, see Cooch’s letter to Del. Lingamfelter and Lingamfelter’s letter to Corey Stewart.)

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My initial response: A lot of people in Virginia are standing around mouths agape, because one arch conservative — Ken Cuccinelli, the Virginia Attorney General — has disagreed with another, Corey Stewart, in a decisive, and perhaps dismissive, fashion.  Many presume that Cuccinelli has a political motivation of some kind, perhaps to prevent Stewart from creating a statewide controversy and riding it to a nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012 (whereas Cuccinelli would prefer someone else get that nod).  I have a different take, but first here are some excerpts from the Attorney General’s response:

•  “Paragraph (D) is unnecessary because law enforcement already has authority to transport prisoners, and there appears to be no need for this additional provision specifically related to persons illegally present in the United States.”

•  “The provisions of this section raise significant ex post facto/takings concerns that are not easily addressed through revision or redrafting.”

•  “Paragraph (J) raises potential equal protection concerns, because it specifically differentiates between United States citizens and other persons in protecting privileges and immunities…This section creates sweeping new classes of felonies and will have a significant fiscal impact…In addition, many of the definitions within the section create overbreadth concerns and could be portrayed as criminalizing legitimate behavior not intended by the drafter…Additionally, the provisions of this section may have the unintended consequence of securing visas (or at least visa application delays of deportation) for those unlawfully present.

•  “Paragraph (G)(1) contains a reference to “Superior Court”; there is no such court in Virginia.”

•  “It is unnecessary to create a new crime that may raise federalism concerns.”

•  “Paragraph (H) would violate the Virginia Constitution, which requires that any such fees must go to the state literary fund

CLICK HERE and read a paragraph-by-paragraph matrix juxtaposing Stewart’s would-be legislation with the Attorney General’s response. Personally, I’m not surprised that our elected Attorney General, sworn to uphold the US Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, has issued a report that is well-researched and well-founded.  I’d be surprised if he did not.  And I’d prefer to believe that Mr. Cuccinelli would have produced a sound legal response no matter who introduced the proposal, even if it was Governor Bob McDonnell.  That’s his job.

As far as conservative Republicans disagreeing with one another, that is precisely what happened in Prince William County when similar legislation was introduced here.  This kind of legislation is incredibly divisive.  It pits short-term political gain against responsible and effective public safety and fiscal policy.  During election season, politicians sometimes prioritize the former, but any lawmaker who takes his or her duty seriously, regardless of party, will come to focus on the policy behind the controversy at some point.  And I would argue that these bills coming from anti-immigrant law firms in Washington are designed to produce controversy more so than they are designed to produce policy.  Law suits may be costly for taxpayers, but they are very lucrative for lawyers.

In sum, Ken Cuccinelli and Bob McDonnell want to skip the political theater, culture war, and grandstanding Corey Stewart has in mind, and dig straight down to the letter of the law.  Elected leaders at the state level have enough crises to deal with.  There is no need to create another one.  I’m grateful to the Governor and the Attorney General for taking decisive action to nip this thing in the bud.  I hope leaders in other states do the same.  I’ll be doing my part to make it more likely.  More on that later.

The broad strokes of the Virginia Attorney General’s legal assessment agrees with my own, stated in a previous entry for this blog:

With the 2011 election around the corner, Chairman Stewart appears to be seeking the kind of attention Jan Brewer has received thanks to S.B. 1070’s very similar “Reasonable Suspicion” provision.  But in fact, Stewart is a more appropriate spokesperson for the Obama Administration’s Secure Communities program than for S.B. 1070.

Also, it’s important to know that the bluster that supports Chairman Stewart’s argument can be debunked just as thoroughly as the legalese.  Please check out my blog post about immigration and crime statistics.