Shurtleff tells state education office attorneys to halt legal advice

The Utah Attorney General has stripped the "special assitant attorney general" status from State Board of Education attorneys for "fostering an adversarial and hostile relationship" between the board and his office.

In a letter Thursday to both attorneys and the State Board of Education, Shurtleff also told both Carol Lear and Jean Hill not to give legal advice or representation to the state board or State Office of Education and that any legal conversations with those parties are not protected by the attorney-client privilege.

But state board leaders, after meeting in executive session, opted to ignore the letter.

"Contrary to the advice of the attorney general we will continue using Carol and Jean in their current status," said Kim Burningham, chairman of the State Board of Education.

In another development on the voucher issue, he Utah Supreme Court hears pro- and anti-voucher arguments; Democratic legislators called on Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to immediately call a special session to "fix" the voucher mess which is now before the state Supreme Court.

The high court will hear agruments Friday over wording of a referendum to repeal the voucher law that lawmakers passed earlier this year.

Shurtleff ordered the State Board of Education to implement a voucher program from the controversial voucher amendment law HB174, while the other bill awaits the referendum vote.

Both attorneys supported the board's decision last week to go against the AG's counsel and refuse to implement HB174.

That has irked Shurtleff, who had previously appointed each of them as a Special Assistant Attorney General with the specific charge that you "act on behalf of the Attorney General's Office."

According to the letter from Shurtleff, Hill and Lear have been "giving advice contrary and inconsistent with advice given by me and others in the Attorney General's Office. As a result, your appointment as Special Assistant Attorney General is hereby terminated."

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