Decision to Hire Paul Clement to Defend Immigration Law Is Surprise to Arizona’s Attorney General

Former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who made news in April when he resigned in protest from King & Spalding over his representation of the House's position on the Defense of Marriage Act, has been tapped by the state of Arizona to defend its controversial immigration law.

Clement, now at Washington, D.C.-boutique Bancroft, will handle the state's certiorari petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, reports the Am Law Daily and AZ Central's Political Insider blog.

Political Insider characterized the hire by Gov. Jan Brewer as a surprise because Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne had previously said he was eager to handle all proceedings in the case. Indeed, Horne's office told the Political Insider that it was unaware of Brewer's decision until the morning of her announcement.

Arizona is hoping to resolve litigation so it can begin to implement the law, SB-1070. Last summer, a federal judge issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing some provisions of the law, specifically a requirement that police determine the immigration status of people they lawfully stop, detain or arrest. The injunction also barred the state from enforcing a provision that made it a crime to fail to carry proper alien registration forms.

The cert petition is due July 11.