OPINION: How fast can a lawsuit be lost? Labrador may find out

This editorial was published in The Idaho Statesman of Boise.

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Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador may set some kind of record soon.

On July 24, he filed his latest lawsuit attempting to block voters from being able to vote on the open primaries initiative. Exactly three weeks later, the Idaho Supreme Court tossed the entire thing out without even reaching the merits of the case, saying that Labrador’s petition “fundamentally misapprehends the role of this Court under the Idaho Constitution and the role of the Secretary of State under the initiative laws enacted by the Idaho Legislature.”

That sounds a lot like the polite, judgespeak version of, “Go back to law school.”

Anyone can lose a lawsuit. But doing it this quickly, and with such flair, takes a unique talent.

Labrador had made two basic arguments. The first was that the open primaries initiative backers gained signatures under false pretenses because the system of elections they would create, a primary in which anyone could vote followed by a ranked-choice general election where the top four vote-getters would face off, isn’t truly an open primary by the technical definition of the term. The second was that changing both the primary and general elections at the same time would violate the single-subject rule.

The first argument was invalid because it hadn’t been brought to a district court before appealing it to the Supreme Court, as is done in almost 100% of cases. The second was invalid because the initiative hasn’t passed yet. So the court didn’t have to dig far into the details before dismissing Labrador’s lawsuit.

“The Attorney General and the Secretary of State each moved to expedite briefing, oral argument, and the Court’s decision in this matter,” Justice Robyn Brody wrote. “In an exercise of our discretion, the Court issues this expedited opinion solely on the basis of the Attorney General’s filings and declines to order additional briefing or hear oral argument.”

In other words: There’s nothing to argue about here, so holding a hearing where Labrador could make his case would be a waste of everyone’s time. As was the lawsuit itself. As have been the entire series of legal hurdles Labrador has thrown in the way of the open primaries initiative.

And that was being charitable to Labrador. He could have faced a rebuke for his violation of basic legal ethics in the lawsuit, in which his office attempted to simultaneously sue and represent Secretary of State Phil McGrane.

None of this is too surprising. It’s been Labrador’s modus operandi since taking office to bring poorly formulated lawsuits for the benefit of far-right lawmakers — who overwhelmingly fear the open primaries initiative, it should be noted.

During the 2022 election cycle, many lawmakers in Idaho’s growing far-right faction were eager to throw their support behind Labrador, as they were sick and tired of balls-and-strikes-calling, level-headed Attorney General Lawrence Wasden always reminding them that their plans were unconstitutional or illegal.

But did they gain anything by ousting Wasden? They now have a state officer who tells them what they want to hear and files the lawsuits they want him to file, but in those cases, he almost always loses, sometimes instantaneously and usually embarrassingly, and then files appeals.

So the only effect is that taxpayers have to shell out money for court proceedings before the exact same conclusion is reached, as happened once again this week.

But Labrador has little incentive to change. Losing lawsuits doesn’t hurt him, and filing them brings him much attention.

Because Labrador’s chief aim for his stint as attorney general is clear. It isn’t to win lawsuits. It isn’t to represent the state or the Legislature well. It isn’t to safeguard the liberty of the people.

It’s to lay the groundwork for his next campaign for governor — a campaign he stands a chance of winning only if the open primaries initiative fails to become law. So expect him to keep on doing the same thing: serving himself and his agenda on your dime.

TNS