Agenda Packets - 1987/06/01 - Laserfiche WebLink

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8. What is the relationship of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and is members, who usuall r sent the states, w t t o ega enter? W at s t e re F ... i� ? r e M.F ....s T..e♦ �... ; .. TT Z The Legal Center has cooperative and non -duplicative rela- tionships with NAAG and with NIMLO that' have been described in formal operating agreements to clarify the respective roles of the organizations. The NAAG agreement recognizes that NAAG is the service orga- nization of first resort in all cases where an Attorney General is the state's legal representative, with primary responsibility to aid Attorneys General by assistinq in writing briefs, by coor- dinating briefs amicus curiae by states, and by providing moot courts. The NIMLO agreement recognizes that NIMLO is the service organization of primary resort in all cases where a party to a case before the Supreme Court is represented by a NIMLO member, with primary responsibility to aid its members by providing assistance in writing briefs and holding moot courts. In all cases in which the party is not represented by a state attorney general or a NIMLO member, tho Legal Center is the ser- vice organization of first resort, with primary responsibility to aid the attorney representing the party by assisting in writing briefs and providing moot courts. The Legal Center also has sole responsibility to aid the, trustee organizations in their filings of amicus briefs and in other actions in which they are named parties. As set out in other answers, there are numerous areas in which the organizations cooperate in jointly providing assistance toward their mutual goal of improving the -advocacy of state and local government .lawyers before the Supreme Court. 9. Now does the Legal Center decide in which cases to par - tTcipate? The decision to prepare an amicus brief is initially the responsibility of. a Legal Task Pnrce which meets perhaps 20 times a year. Each of the seven trustee orqanizations and NIMLO is represented on the Lpqal Task Force by a staff member. The Task Force uses written guidelines for case selection that were adopted by the Board of. Trustees.2/ The representatives of the organizations are highly experienced attorneys familiar with state, municipal, and constitutional law. A representative of the. National Association of Attorneys Cenp.ral and the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Legal Center sit as nonvoting members of the Task Force. 2/ A more detailed description of the process is available on request. - 5-