Losing AG candidate appeals Becerra’s right to the job

SACRAMENTO -- A losing candidate in the June primary for attorney general has appealed a court decision finding Democratic incumbent Xavier Becerra is legally qualified to hold the office.

Eric P. Early claims Becerra is ineligible for the job dbecause the California Government Code which states the attorney general must be "admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the state for a period of at least five years immediately preceding his election or appointment."

Early finished fourth in the June primary. He is the managing partner with Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP in Los Angeles.

Becerra is a member in good standing of the State Bar. But he let his law license lapse for 26 years, 24 of which he spent in Congress. A Sacramento County Superior Court judge rejected Early's arguments last week, saying they violated legislative intent and the clear meaning of the statute. Early v. Superior Court of Sacramento, C087605 (Cal. App. 3rd Dist., filed July 24, 2018).

"This court is asked to determine whether time spent as an 'inactive' member of the California State Bar, during which time the practice of law is forbidden and criminally sanctionable, should count toward satisfaction of the five-year 'admitted to practice' requirement," Early's petition states.

His legal team is led by the last Republican to come close to being elected to the office in California; Steve Cooley lost to Kamala Harris by just half a percentage point in 2010. Cooley now has a practice in Rolling Hills Estates.

The petition asks the court to decide the case by Aug. 13, when the secretary of state's office must complete the statewide voter guide.

The petition argues the Legislature expressed its intent in 1989 when it changed the law "to allow attorneys to take the bench after retirement. ... However, the Legislature did not extend this statutory modification to the eligibility requirements for attorney general."

The complaint argues the Legislature could have clarified the law: "There is no doubt the Legislature could amend Government Code 12503 to include voluntarily inactive lawyers, but they have not."