State attorney general

Party affiliation of current United States attorneys general:
  Democratic (25)
  Republican (28)
  Independent (2)
  New Progressive (1)
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The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice.

History

The concept of a state attorney general originates with the attorneys general of the Thirteen Colonies, who in turn were modeled after the Attorney General for England and Wales.[1] The first recorded appointment of an attorney general in the colonies was Virginia's appointment of Richard Lee I in 1643.[1] The office may have existed for some time in a colony before it was recorded in official records. For example, Maryland was settled in 1634 but an attorney general is not mentioned in its records until 1658.[1] In the colonial era, the office was poorly defined, and the pay was terrible and not commensurate to the scope and amount of work.[1] The primitive state of statutory law in the colonies meant that practicing English law required a strong grasp of the common law to fill in the gaps.[1] This was quite a problem when most of the people who actually understood the common law were still in England.[1]

Of the 50 states in the Union, 34 states created or continued the office in their state constitution, eight others created the office in statutory law at the time of statehood, and eight others did not have an attorney general when they became states.[2] A few states were slow to establish the office. Vermont's 1793 constitution mentions an attorney general but the legislature did not actually pass legislation to implement that constitutional provision until 1904.[3] Some states went through the odd exercise of creating the office, abolishing it, then reestablishing it. Specifically, Illinois (1848-1867), Indiana (1826-1855), Maryland (1851-1864), and Massachusetts (1843-1849) all went through periods of disestablishing and reestablishing their state attorney general offices.[3] All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all the inhabited federal territories now have an attorney general or chief legal officer.[2]

Selection

The most prevalent method of selecting a state's attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general.[4] Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years.[5]

Seven states do not popularly elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is appointed by the governor.[4] The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term.[4][5] In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term.[4][5]

The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term. 2014 marked the first year that the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office. In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by the governor.[6] In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general.[7]

Many states have passed term limits limiting the selection to 2 consecutive terms (9 states); 2 terms maximum (4 states), but 33 states have no term limits.[8]

Duties

The specific duties of a state attorney general vary significantly from state to state, but there are several duties common to most offices:

  • Control of litigation involving the state (representing the state at the trial and appellate levels in various types of litigation);[9]
  • Chief legal officer of the state (chief legal advisor to the governor and various state government agencies);[9]
  • Drafting advisory opinions on state law;[10]
  • Public advocacy (i.e., child support enforcement, consumer protection, state-level antitrust enforcement, utilities regulation, and crime victim advocacy);[10]
  • Criminal law enforcement (most attorneys general have relatively limited authority to initiate criminal prosecutions, but most are responsible for responding to defendants' appeals from prosecutions initiated in trial courts by locally-elected district attorneys);[10]
  • Law reform (i.e., serving on a law reform commission);[10]
  • Exercising investigative authority (i.e., leading investigations of government misconduct, malfeasance, individual criminal activity, or issues of substantial public interest);[11] and
  • Setting public policy (invoking the authority of the statewide office as a platform to "speak with authority and influence on major questions" involving law and justice).[11]

Defense of the state in federal lawsuits

State attorneys general enforce both state and federal laws. Because they are sworn to uphold the United States' constitution and laws as well as the state's, they may decline to defend a state law in a federal preemption case.[12]

Organization

Two of the most common management models for organizing a state attorney general office are the "chief deputy model" and the "multideputy cabinet model".[13]

In the "chief deputy model", the state attorney general delegates supervisory authority over all substantive divisions to a chief deputy attorney general, who acts as the de facto chief executive officer and presides over executive committee meetings.[13]

In the "multideputy cabinet model", there is no chief deputy. The office's substantive divisions are consolidated under a small number of first assistant or chief assistant attorneys general who together form the office's executive committee and function as a de facto cabinet to the state attorney general.[13]

Current attorneys general

The current party composition of the state attorneys general is:

The composition for the District of Columbia and the 5 populated territories is:

Rows of the attorney general table below are color coded indicating the political party of the office holder.

Officeholder State Party Assumed office Term expires Law school Term limits
Steve Marshall Alabama Republican February 10, 2017 2027 (term limits) University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 2 consecutive terms
Treg Taylor Alaska Republican January 30, 2021 Appointed Brigham Young University no term limits
Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde American Samoa Nonpartisan February 7, 2025 Appointed University of Hawaii, Manoa
Kris Mayes Arizona Democratic January 2, 2023 2027 Arizona State University 2 consecutive terms
Tim Griffin Arkansas Republican January 10, 2023 2027 Tulane University 2 terms maximum
Rob Bonta California Democratic April 23, 2021 2027 Yale University 2 terms maximum
Phil Weiser Colorado Democratic January 8, 2019 2027 (term limits) New York University 2 consecutive terms
William Tong Connecticut Democratic January 9, 2019 2027 University of Chicago no term limits
Kathy Jennings Delaware Democratic January 1, 2019 2027 Villanova University no term limits
Brian Schwalb District of Columbia Democratic January 2, 2023 2027 Harvard University
James Uthmeier Florida Republican February 17, 2025 2027 Georgetown University 2 consecutive terms
Chris Carr Georgia Republican November 1, 2016 2027 University of Georgia no term limits
Doug Moylan Guam Republican January 2, 2023 2027 Santa Clara University
Anne Lopez Hawaii Democratic December 5, 2022 Appointed University of Hawaii, Manoa no term limits
Raúl Labrador Idaho Republican January 2, 2023 2027 University of Washington no term limits
Kwame Raoul Illinois Democratic January 14, 2019 2027 Illinois Institute of Technology no term limits
Todd Rokita Indiana Republican January 11, 2021 2029 Indiana University, Indianapolis no term limits
Brenna Bird Iowa Republican January 3, 2023 2027 University of Chicago no term limits
Kris Kobach Kansas Republican January 9, 2023 2027 Yale University no term limits
Russell Coleman Kentucky Republican January 1, 2024 2028 University of Kentucky 2 consecutive terms
Liz Murrill Louisiana Republican January 8, 2024 2028 Louisiana State University
Pepperdine University (LLM) 		no term limits
Aaron Frey Maine Democratic January 2, 2019 2025 (Elected by the Legislature) Roger Williams University 4 two year terms
Anthony Brown Maryland Democratic January 3, 2023 2027 Harvard University no term limits
Andrea Campbell Massachusetts Democratic January 18, 2023 2027 University of California, Los Angeles no term limits
Dana Nessel Michigan Democratic January 1, 2019 2027 (term limits) Wayne State University 2 terms max
Keith Ellison Minnesota Democratic (DFL) January 7, 2019 2027 University of Minnesota, Twin Cities no term limits
Lynn Fitch Mississippi Republican January 9, 2020 2028 University of Mississippi, Oxford no term limits
Andrew Bailey Missouri Republican January 3, 2023 2029 University of Missouri, Columbia no term limits
Austin Knudsen Montana Republican January 4, 2021 2029 University of Montana 2 terms in 16-year period
Mike Hilgers Nebraska Republican January 5, 2023 2027 University of Chicago no term limits
Aaron Ford Nevada Democratic January 7, 2019 2027 (term limits) Ohio State University, Columbus 2 terms max
John Formella New Hampshire Republican April 22, 2021 2025 (appointed) George Washington University no term limits
Matthew Platkin New Jersey Democratic February 14, 2022 Appointed Stanford University no term limits
Raúl Torrez New Mexico Democratic January 1, 2023 2027 Stanford University 2 consecutive terms
Letitia James New York Democratic January 1, 2019 2027 Howard University no term limits
Jeff Jackson North Carolina Democratic January 1, 2025 2029 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill no term limits
Drew Wrigley North Dakota Republican February 9, 2022 2027 American University no term limits
Edward Manibusan Northern Mariana Islands Democratic January 13, 2015 2027 Gonzaga University
Dave Yost Ohio Republican January 14, 2019 2027 (term limits) Capital University 2 consecutive terms
Gentner Drummond Oklahoma Republican January 9, 2023 2027 Georgetown University 2 terms max
Dan Rayfield Oregon Democratic December 31, 2024 2029 Willamette University no term limits
Dave Sunday Pennsylvania Republican January 21, 2025 2029 Widener University (Delaware) 2 consecutive terms
Lourdes Gómez Puerto Rico[14] New Progressive May 27, 2025 Appointed Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico
Peter Neronha Rhode Island Democratic January 1, 2019 2027 (term limits) Boston College 2 consecutive terms
Alan Wilson South Carolina Republican January 12, 2011 2027 University of South Carolina, Columbia no term limits
Marty Jackley South Dakota Republican January 3, 2023 2027 University of South Dakota 2 consecutive terms
Jonathan Skrmetti Tennessee Republican September 1, 2022 2030 (Elected by State Supreme Court) Harvard University no term limits
Ken Paxton Texas Republican January 5, 2015
Suspended: May 27, 2023 – September 16, 2023 		2027 University of Notre Dame no term limits
Gordon Rhea U.S. Virgin Islands Nonpartisan April 29, 2024 Appointed Stanford University
Derek Brown Utah Republican January 6, 2025 2029 Pepperdine University no term limits
Charity Clark Vermont Democratic January 5, 2023 2027 Boston College no term limits
Jason Miyares Virginia Republican January 15, 2022 2026 College of William and Mary no term limits
Nick Brown Washington Democratic January 15, 2025 2029 Harvard University no term limits
JB McCuskey West Virginia Republican January 13, 2025 2029 West Virginia University no term limits
Josh Kaul Wisconsin Democratic January 7, 2019 2027 Stanford University no term limits
Keith Kautz Wyoming Republican July 7, 2025 Appointed University of Wyoming no term limits

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 6.)
  2. ^ a b Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 8.)
  3. ^ a b Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 9.)
  4. ^ a b c d Moretto, Mario (January 23, 2015). "LePage sheds light on plan to strip Legislature of power to elect attorney general, treasurer". Bangor Publishing Company. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Elections for Attorney General to Take Place in 30 States". National Association of Attorneys General. National Association of Attorneys General. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "2014 State and Territorial Attorneys General Election Results". National Association of Attorneys General. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "AG Spotlight: New Attorneys General". National Association of Attorneys General. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  8. ^ "Attorneys General with term limits". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 12.)
  10. ^ a b c d Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 13.)
  11. ^ a b Isaeff, Bill; Kneedler, H. Lane; Mountain Jr., James E.; Rivlin, Catherine A. (1990). "Chapter 1: Origin and Development of the Office". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 3–14. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 14.)
  12. ^ Phillips, Amber (May 15, 2016). "Is it legal for North Carolina's attorney general to not defend the state's bathroom law?". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c Gilles, Timothy; Ross, Lynne M. (1990). "Appendix C: Office of Attorney General Organizational Structures". In Ross, Lynne M. (ed.). State Attorneys General: Powers and Responsibilities. Washington, D.C.: BNA Books. pp. 348–351. ISBN 0871796368. (At p. 348.)
  14. ^ The title of the head of Puerto Rico's Justice Department is the Secretary of Justice, not Attorney General.
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