GOP lawmakers lead lawsuits against Connecticut COVID rules

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, a pair of politically conservative lawyers has become the go-to team for groups seeking to sue Connecticut over the school mask mandate, restrictions on bars and restaurants, and other aspects of the governor's emergency executive orders.

The two men, Doug Dubitsky and Craig Fishbein, are also Republican members of the state General Assembly. That arrangement has brought criticism from some Democrats, but ethics officials who have reviewed it say it doesn't violate state laws. As long as being a legislator is part-time work in Connecticut, they say, officials are entitled to have other jobs to pay their bills.

“It’s just an odd one to sue the state you represent, that you’re duly elected to represent,” said House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Democrat from Hartford and a private attorney. “I wouldn’t change the statute. I just personally would not sue the state of Connecticut as a lawyer, as a legislator.”

Dubitsky’s private and public roles appeared to overlap last month when a woman testifying before the legislature’s Conservative Caucus accused him of chastising her because she and fellow parents didn’t “come up with $100,000” to hire his law firm to challenge a vaccination mandate for University of Connecticut students.

Dubitsky, who declined to discuss the woman's claim, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he and Fishbein are doing nothing wrong and are taking on cases that other lawyers would avoid because of fears about political repercussions.

“There are tons of attorneys out there, but people are scared. Attorneys are scared. Everybody’s scared to say anything more, to say the wrong thing or to poke their head up lest they be chopped off,” he said. “And there aren’t all that many of us out...