Ken Starr to represent AZ in English case

[flashl]

PHOENIX — The Legislature has hired an attorney best known for his role in the impeachment of Bill Clinton to take on its fight over spending more to teach English to those not proficient in the language.

Ken Starr, a key figure in the Clinton impeachment, will try to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that both a trial judge and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in finding provisions of a 2006 law designed to comply with federal education laws are illegal.

But state school superintendent Tom Horne, who also is challenging the lower-court rulings, hopes to persuade the nation's high court to throw out the entire case. Horne, who has his own legal counsel in the dispute, contends federal courts no longer have jurisdiction.

Whether any of the attorneys actually will be able to make their arguments is unknown. The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided whether to even consider the dispute.

AZ Starnet