Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
High court judge denies DiZoglio’s ask for outside attorney in audit lawsuit
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio must respond to Attorney General Andrea Campbell's move to strike the lawsuit later this week.
The state’s highest court issued a setback to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio Tuesday in her efforts to audit the Legislature.
DiZoglio’s office is suing legislative leaders in the hopes of forcing their compliance with an audit. A single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court denied a motion DiZoglio filed recently seeking to hire an outside attorney to represent her office in that lawsuit.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who has declined to take DiZoglio’s side in the standoff with legislative leaders, moved to strike the lawsuit. Campbell accused the auditor of pursuing a “ploy” to “sidestep” the required approval from her office. She said that DiZoglio does not have the authority to file such a lawsuit and that her own office is the “gatekeeper” that determines when the state’s intergovernmental legal disputes require a judicial resolution.
Advertisement:
DiZoglio filed an emergency motion in response to Campbell, arguing that the attorney general has a conflict of interest. This, according to DiZoglio, necessitates the appointment of an outside attorney, known as a special assistant attorney general. DiZoglio’s motion also requested more time to respond to Campbell’s move to strike.
Judge Dalila Argaez Wendlandt of the SJC denied this motion Tuesday.
“The State Auditor cites no statute, constitutional provision, or other authority that would permit a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to appoint a SAAG,” Wendlandt wrote in the ruling.
Advertisement:
Wendlandt said that DiZoglio had not “shown good cause” for an extension and that the auditor’s response to Campbell remains due on Thursday afternoon.
DiZoglio had hoped to tap Shannon Liss-Riordan as a SAAG on her behalf. Liss-Riordan is a former candidate for attorney general, who lost to Campbell in 2022.
The auditor said in a statement that Wendlandt’s ruling was “incredibly disappointing” and that her office intended to file its opposition to Campbell’s motion by the deadline on Thursday.
“Our position is legally sound, however, Judge Wendlandt wants to allow the AG to represent the Speaker and Senate President while simultaneously telling us we are unworthy of proper representation against them all in court. I guess some people count and some don’t. This is why most of us don’t trust the courts anymore. It’s hard to take on the Legislature in court when it’s Beacon Hill who appoints our judges and funds their salaries,” DiZoglio said.
DiZoglio has been attempting to audit the Legislature for years. She was the driving force behind a 2024 ballot question that gave her office the power to do so. It was overwhelmingly approved by voters, but legislative leaders have been actively blocking DiZoglio’s attempts and raising concerns that her audit would violate state law regarding the separation of powers.
Advertisement:
Meanwhile, DiZoglio is backing a new ballot initiative that seeks to make most records held by the governor’s office and the Legislature public under the existing public records law. That initiative was the subject of a tense hearing on Beacon Hill Tuesday, where lawmakers grilled DiZoglio on the specifics of the proposed law.
DiZoglio also addressed the ballot initiative in her statement, urging voters to support it.
“It may be our only hope to ever get access to Beacon Hill’s closed door operations,” she said.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com