# Can a citizen contest a state AG's contest of a Federal law? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 24, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573 "2010-03-24T03:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/1 "2010-03-24T03:11:58Z")
Let’s say I’m a resident and taxpayer of X-lyvania, the 51st state of the United States, and I want to contest the new Federal Meat Support Act (FMSA), which requires every citizen to purchase a pound of red meat at least once a week or face a tax/penalty. I come from a family of butchers, so I personally fully support this new federal act, but as soon as President signed the FMSA into law my state’s AG, who is a Vegan, filed suit to have the FMSA declared unconstitutional. Short of voting against the AG in the next election, what can I do now to stop this lawsuit in its tracks? Do I have any grounds to sue the AG to get an injunction against him, to stop him from wasting the state’s money on a quixotic lawsuit against a Federal law which the state has no real interest in, or am I the citizen stuck with it? Any similarity to actual present political situation is purely intentional, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/2 "2010-03-24T12:22:18Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Let’s say I’m a resident and taxpayer of X-lyvania, the 51st state of the United States, and I want to contest the new Federal Meat Support Act (FMSA), which requires every citizen to purchase a pound of red meat at least once a week or face a tax/penalty. I come from a family of butchers, so I personally fully support this new federal act, but as soon as President signed the FMSA into law my state’s AG, who is a Vegan, filed suit to have the FMSA declared unconstitutional. > > Short of voting against the AG in the next election, what can I do now to stop this lawsuit in its tracks? Do I have any grounds to sue the AG to get an injunction against him, to stop him from wasting the state’s money on a quixotic lawsuit against a Federal law which the state has no real interest in, or am I the citizen stuck with it? > > Any similarity to actual present political situation is purely intentional, of course. 😃 No, you’re stuck with it. Now, how do I, as a vegan, file suit against you to stop you from your quixotic attempts to muzzle the noble efforts of the state’s AG? Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/3 "2010-03-24T13:46:18Z")
Does this fall under sovereign immunity? ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/4 "2010-03-24T14:06:58Z")
Well, it appears friend Bricker’s blanket statement is overbroad and Mr. Moto’s closer to the mark. According to [answers.com](http://www.answers.com/topic/taxpayer-s-suit) a taxpayer’s suit is > [@](#): > > An action brought by an individual whose income is subjected to charges imposed by the state or federal government, for the benefit of that individual and others in order to prevent the unlawful diversion of public funds. > > For example, because every taxpayer of a town has an interest in the preservation of an orderly government, many state laws grant individual taxpayers the right to sue town officers, boards, or commissions to recover money that has been wrongfully spent. Such suits would generally be barred under sovereign immunity unless authorized by state statute, such as Ohio Revised Code Section [309.13](http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/309.13) ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/5 "2010-03-24T14:19:45Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Let’s say I’m a resident and taxpayer of X-lyvania, the 51st state of the United States, and I want to contest the new Federal Meat Support Act (FMSA), which requires every citizen to purchase a pound of red meat at least once a week or face a tax/penalty. I come from a family of butchers, so I personally fully support this new federal act, but as soon as President signed the FMSA into law my state’s AG, who is a Vegan, filed suit to have the FMSA declared unconstitutional. Such is the danger of me posting anything after 11PM, as I see upon re-reading that I contradicted myself in one paragraph, 1st saying I wanted to contest FMSA and then immediately afterward saying I supported it. I regret any confusion. I should’ve just said I was a citizen and taxpayer of X-lyvania, the feds have passed the new law, and my state’s AG has filed suit to declare the new law unconstitutional. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-citizen-contest-a-state-ags-contest-of-a-federal-law/533573/6 "2010-03-24T18:58:07Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Such is the danger of me posting anything after 11PM, as I see upon re-reading that I contradicted myself in one paragraph, 1st saying I wanted to contest FMSA and then immediately afterward saying I supported it. I regret any confusion. Ah, so X-ylvania is Massachusetts and you’re John Kerry? 😃