OPINION: Note to Idaho’s attorney general — conflict of interest rules are not optional
Attorney General Raul Labrador is having a hard time taking “no” for an answer to the State Land Board’s June 17 decision to terminate his legal services and hire its own legal counsel. It must have been a hurtful blow because the Idaho AG has served as the Land Board’s legal adviser ever since Idaho achieved statehood in 1890. However, the relationship of an attorney to his or her client requires trust and confidence, which apparently was lacking between Labrador and the other four members of that board.
Rather than living with the board’s 4-1 vote to oust him as its attorney, Labrador has doubled down and is trying to force his services upon that agency. The board, using its new attorneys, sought to file a brief to have some input into a case in federal court regarding access to land in the Boise foothills. Much to everyone's surprise, Labrador filed opposition to the board’s brief, claiming he was the only state lawyer who had the authority to represent the board.
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