Capitol Retort: AG staffing, group-home think, famous Mr. Giuliani.

Byline: Kevin Featherly

Editor's note: Welcome to Capitol Retort, our weekly review of issues in state and national news, with a rotating cast of legal and political people in the know. Answers are edited for length and clarity. Any instances of agreement are accidental.

[divider]

Question 1: The state Attorney General's Office is pursuing 126 criminal charges against 21 people, including a manslaughter case related to elder abuse. They were charged through the Medicaid fraud division, but Keith Ellison wants lawmakers to staff up his criminal division so he can help local prosecutors pursue even more, non-Medicaid-related crimes. Do you think that will happen?

Dave Ornstein, retired Bloomington City Attorney: I don't think so. I think that there is an issue of whether the county attorneys, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for that matter, potentially have adequate resources to do that. So there's a question of whether it's something that's actually necessary. And there may be some political aspect to that, too Ellison is kind of a controversial guy. So I think with a Republican-led Senate, it might be difficult to get that through.

Dennis Smith, former GOP House member, attorney: I am not sure if the funding request by the attorney general will be granted in this upcoming session, but I am encouraged that he is looking to prosecute more criminals. And I hope that idea is used uniformly across our state from his office.

Scott Newman, GOP state senator, attorney: I think it should happen, I really do. The attorney general's office historically provided expertise to, for the most part, outstate counties when it came to difficult criminal cases. And that criminal division within the Attorney General's Office was greatly diminished under former Attorneys General Lori Swanson and Mike Hatch. So I agree with the attorney general that we should be providing the necessary funds to beef up the criminal division. Will it happen? That's a question I really can't answer. But I do agree with the attorney general that it should happen.

Melisa Franzen, DFL state senator, attorney: Probably not likely anytime soon. I know it has been historically one of the areas where the office has gotten the least amount of attorneys. I just don't see us propping any agency up with staffing, especially with the Republicans in charge and questioning the need. They're all for limited government. But it's not that it's not needed.

Question 2: Federal judge Donovan Frank...