The Connecticut Republican Party has reversed course and decided to accept Superior Court Michael R. Sheldon’s invitation to argue that the court has no jurisdiction to rule on Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz’s qualifications to run for attorney general.
“After a trial on the merits, it is clear that plaintfiff [Bysiewicz] failed to demonstrate to this court that his has subject matter jurisdiction over this matter,” the party’s attorney, Eliot Gersten, in a brief.
Oral arguments are this afternoon.
Gersten basically is arguing that the question is premature, because Bysiewicz has not been denied access to the ballot by the Democratic Party or the state.
She is seeking a declaratory ruling that she has the requisite 10 years of active practice of law to run for AG, or that the statutory requirement is unconstitutional.
“Fear and speculation do no equate to jurisdiction,” Gersten says in his brief.