A hearing in the lawsuit challenging Daniel Cameron's eligibility to run for attorney general won't be held for two weeks, frustrating his campaign's effort to rid the highly contentious race of a what it calls an attempt to "cheat" him out of office.

Sheryl Snyder, the attorney for Cameron, said in Jefferson Circuit Court on Monday that arguments should begin in the case that morning because Cameron's Democratic opponent, Greg Stumbo, is "using this case ... as a political vehicle."

But Judge Barry Willett instead assigned the hearing to Oct. 7, the first available date that all parties could meet in two weeks, saying that he was just handed the case and had not reviewed it.

The complaint filed last week by Louisville resident Joseph Jackson alleges that Cameron, a Republican, will not have practiced law for at least eight years by Election Day, as required for attorneys general under the state constitution.

Cameron's campaign accused Stumbo last week of being behind the lawsuit, which it describes as "an old white career politician" trying to "cheat a young qualified black attorney out of a fair election."

While attorneys for both sides agree Cameron received his law license in October 2011— surpassing eight years by the election — the complaint argues that Cameron did not actually begin practicing law until 2013, when he ended his clerkship for a federal judge.

Citing a code of ethics for federal clerks that only allows them to practice law and work for clients in limited circumstances, the complaint argues that these first two years for Cameron should not count and thus he doesn't meet the constitutional eight-year requirement.

Cameron's attorney pushed back against the claim in comments to the judge and with reporters after Monday's hearings, arguing that a federal clerkship is applied training that in itself should count as practicing law.

Snyder also cited the resolution of a 1995 complaint challenging the eligibility of attorney general candidate Ben Chandler for similar reasons.

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The plaintiff in that case alleged that Chandler's four years serving as state auditor should not count as practicing law, but the judge disagreed and dismissed the case. The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld that dismissal in an unpublished opinion, and the Kentucky Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

Snyder argued that past case rulings in Kentucky have shown that restrictions on a candidate's qualifications are to be "liberally construed in favor of keeping a candidate on the ballot so the people make the decisions, not the courts."

Ben Gastel, an attorney for Jackson, told Judge Willett that Cameron should be present to testify at the Oct. 7 hearing, but Snyder argued that there was no reason for Cameron to testify in the case "besides politics."

Judge Willett decided that while Cameron does not need to testify or be deposed in the case, he did call for him to be at the Oct. 7 hearing "because it is within the realm of possibility — albeit remote — that I may decide to let him be placed on the stand."

After the hearing on Monday, Snyder told reporters that the case should be resolved as quickly as possible because "it's important for the voting public to know that Daniel Cameron is a bona fide candidate for attorney general and not to be confused by the distractions of this lawsuit into thinking that he won't be on the ballot.

"Because he will for sure be on the ballot."

Snyder said that while the Court of Appeals opinion in the Chandler case is not a "binding precedent" that must be followed by lower courts, it is a "persuasive precedent" in which the lower court "can decide whether they are persuaded by the reasoning in the opinion or not."

Gastel told reporters after the hearing that he is encouraged by the judge requiring Cameron to be present at the next hearing and looks forward "to having the opportunity to question him about his qualifications on Oct. 7."

The plaintiff, Jackson, told reporters that he decided to file the complaint on his own because he wants "justice served," adding that it is not about politics.

"I'm not into politics," Jackson said. "I'm just a concerned citizen."

After Cameron's campaign highlighted race in its criticism of Stumbo and the lawsuit, Stumbo responded with a statement saying, "Cameron’s attempt to make this campaign about race is disappointing and unfortunate. This campaign has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with experience in the courts."

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.