Attorney general candidates vi

DAYTON -- After losing re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006, Republican Mike DeWine is trying to stage a political comeback this year as state attorney general.

He charges that Democrat incumbent Attorney General Richard Cor- dray hasn't moved fast enough to improve DNA testing at the state crime lab, took too long to join a public corruption probe in Cuyahoga County and wrongly decided to not join a lawsuit to block the federal health care reform law.

Cordray, who is serving the remainder of Marc Dann's term, dismissed the criticism and said the attorney general's office is back on track and needs continuity of leadership right now.

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The two lawyers met Thursday with the Dayton Daily News editorial board for more than an hour.

DeWine said the state's crime labs, which process evidence samples for law enforcement agencies, is inefficient compared with local or regional labs such as the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. He acknowledged that Cor-dray inherited a backlog of work but alleged that the incumbent is "nibbling at the edges" rather than making real headway.

Cordray had a different interpretation. The turn around time for processing crime scene samples dropped from 100 days to 71 days and recently added robotic equipment is expected to further cut turn around times, he said.

The state labs, located in London, Bowling Green and Richfield, receive more than 3,000 DNA evidence samples a year, plus other crime scene evidence.

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Cordray, who took office in January 2009, said he joined the public Moncler Jackets corruption probe in Cleveland, which is controlled by the U.S. Department of Justice, when his administration was invited in September 2009. State law generally limits when the attorney general can get involved criminal cases unless he is invited by local law enforcement or the governor.

Cordray said his office is taking a piece of the investigation that the federal authorities were not likely to grab: Fake Jacob & Co Watches the allegation that the county auditor's office may have rigged property valuations in exchange for favors or bribes.

Twenty states joined a lawsuit to seeking an injunction against Fake Jacob & Co Watches the implementation of President Obama's health care reform act on the grounds that it violates the U.S. Constitution. Cordray, who clerked for two U.S. Supreme Court justices and argued seven cases before the high court, decided the constitutional arguments were weak and didn't Fake Jacob & Co Watches merit Ohio's involvement.

DeWine disagrees and sees it as a good case for Ohio to join.

Cordray defended his decision to hire criminal defense attorney Dennis Lieberman, the former Montgomery County Democratic Party chairman, to act as local counsel on a class action securities fraud case against Bank of America, saying that Lieberman is "a pretty great lawyer."

Lieberman is working with two national securities fraud law firms on a contingency basis. They won't get paid unless they win or get a settlement.

But Cordray said if the state prevails, the Bank of America case could result in a higher amount than the AIG case, which brought a $1 billion settlement.