The Attorney General and the Taxpayer
The state supreme court rules that citizens cannot challenge state spending, handing a victory to the Attorney General.
The agricultural college injunction granted by Judge Campbell, of Tacoma, has been knocked out by the supreme court of the state. The opinion was to the effect that a taxpayer, who has no more than a community interest in a matter which concerns the general public, cannot suspend the workings of a state department. Attorney General Jones was actively in the case, appearing as the paid attorney of interested parties rather than for the state, holding that it was safer to trust the bringing of such a suit to him than to a law-abiding citizen and taxpayer who sought to undo a recognized wrong.
“This court, untrammeled by precedent or authority... deems it safer to relegate the instituting of suits... to the judgment and discretion of the attorney general.”
This 1891 case highlights the perennial struggle over who holds 'standing' to challenge state corruption. The editorial’s biting critique of Attorney General Jones reflects a common historical tension regarding whether public officials serve the people or the special interests backing their positions.
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