State attorney general
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.
The current party composition of the state attorneys general are:
- 26 Democrats
- 24 Republicans
The composition for the District of Columbia and the 5 populated territories are:
- 4 Democrats
- 2 Independent
Contents
1 Selection
2 Defense of the state in federal lawsuits
3 Current attorneys general
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Selection
The most prevalent method of selecting a state attorney general is by popular election. 43 states have an elected attorney general.[1] Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years.[2]
Seven states do not elect an attorney general. In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is a gubernatorial appointee.[1] The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term.[1][2] In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term.[1][2]
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 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 governor.[3] In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general.[4]
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 often decline to defend the state in federal lawsuits.[5]
Current attorneys general
List of attorneys general by U.S. states and territories:
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steve Marshall | Alabama | Republican | February 10, 2017 | 2023 | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa |
Kevin Clarkson | Alaska | Republican | December 5, 2018 | Appointed | Willamette University |
Talauega Ale | American Samoa | Democratic | January 28, 2014 | Appointed | Drake University |
Mark Brnovich | Arizona | Republican | January 5, 2015 | 2023 | University of San Diego |
Leslie Rutledge | Arkansas | Republican | January 13, 2015 | 2023 | University of Arkansas, Little Rock |
Xavier Becerra | California | Democratic | January 24, 2017 | 2023 | Stanford University |
Phil Weiser | Colorado | Democratic | January 8, 2019 | 2023 | New York University |
William Tong | Connecticut | Democratic | January 9, 2019 | 2023 | University of Chicago |
Kathy Jennings | Delaware | Democratic | January 1, 2019 | 2023 | Villanova University |
Karl Racine | District of Columbia | Democratic | January 2, 2015 | 2023 | University of Virginia |
Ashley Moody | Florida | Republican | January 9, 2019 | 2023 | University of Florida Stetson University (LLM) |
Chris Carr | Georgia | Republican | November 1, 2016 | 2023 | University of Georgia |
Leevin Camacho | Guam | Independent | January 7, 2019 | 2023 | Boston University |
Clare Connors | Hawaii | Democratic | January 3, 2019 | Appointed by Governor | Harvard University |
Lawrence Wasden | Idaho | Republican | January 6, 2003 | 2023 | University of Idaho, Moscow |
Kwame Raoul | Illinois | Democratic | January 14, 2019 | 2023 | Illinois Institute of Technology |
Curtis Hill | Indiana | Republican | January 9, 2017 | 2021 | Indiana University, Bloomington |
Tom Miller | Iowa | Democratic | January 6, 1995 | 2023 | Harvard University |
Derek Schmidt | Kansas | Republican | January 10, 2011 | 2023 | Georgetown University |
Andy Beshear | Kentucky | Democratic | January 4, 2016 | 2020 | University of Virginia |
Jeff Landry | Louisiana | Republican | January 11, 2016 | 2023 | Loyola University, New Orleans |
Aaron Frey | Maine | Democratic | January 2, 2019 | 2023 (Elected by the Legislature) | Roger Williams University |
Brian Frosh | Maryland | Democratic | January 6, 2015 | 2023 | Columbia University |
Maura Healey | Massachusetts | Democratic | January 21, 2015 | 2023 | Northeastern University |
Dana Nessel | Michigan | Democratic | January 1, 2019 | 2023 | Wayne State University |
Keith Ellison | Minnesota | Democratic | January 7, 2019 | 2023 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities |
Jim Hood | Mississippi | Democratic | January 14, 2004 | 2020 | University of Mississippi, Oxford |
Eric Schmitt | Missouri | Republican | January 3, 2019 | 2021 | Saint Louis University |
Tim Fox | Montana | Republican | January 7, 2013 | 2021 | University of Montana |
Doug Peterson | Nebraska | Republican | January 8, 2015 | 2023 | Pepperdine University |
Aaron Ford | Nevada | Democratic | January 7, 2019 | 2023 | Ohio State University, Columbus |
Gordon MacDonald | New Hampshire | Republican | April 13, 2017 | 2021 (Appointed) | Cornell University |
Gurbir Grewal | New Jersey | Democratic | January 16, 2018 | Appointed | College of William and Mary |
Hector Balderas | New Mexico | Democratic | January 1, 2015 | 2023 | University of New Mexico, Albuquerque |
Tish James | New York | Democratic | January 1, 2019 | 2023 | Howard University |
Josh Stein | North Carolina | Democratic | January 1, 2017 | 2021 | Harvard University |
Wayne Stenehjem | North Dakota | Republican | December 15, 2000 | 2023 | University of North Dakota |
Edward Manibusan | Northern Mariana Islands | Democratic | January 13, 2015 | 2023 | Gonzaga University |
Dave Yost | Ohio | Republican | January 14, 2019 | 2023 | Capital University |
Mike Hunter | Oklahoma | Republican | February 20, 2017 | 2023 | University of Oklahoma |
Ellen Rosenblum | Oregon | Democratic | June 29, 2012 | 2021 | University of Oregon |
Josh Shapiro | Pennsylvania | Democratic | January 17, 2017 | 2021 | Georgetown University |
Wanda Vázquez Garced | Puerto Rico[6] | New Progressive/ Democratic | January 2, 2017 | 2021 (Appointed) | Interamerican University, San Juan |
Peter Neronha | Rhode Island | Democratic | January 1, 2019 | 2023 | Boston College |
Alan Wilson | South Carolina | Republican | January 12, 2011 | 2023 | University of South Carolina, Columbia |
Jason Ravnsborg | South Dakota | Republican | January 5, 2019 | 2023 | University of South Dakota, Vermillion |
Herbert Slatery | Tennessee | Republican | October 1, 2014 | 2022 (Appointed) | University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
Ken Paxton | Texas | Republican | January 5, 2015 | 2023 | University of Virginia |
Carol Thomas-Jacobs | U.S. Virgin Islands | Independent | January 10, 2019 | Appointed | University of the West Indies, Barbados (LLB) University of the West Indies, Jamaica (LEC) |
Sean Reyes | Utah | Republican | December 30, 2013 | 2021 | University of California, Berkeley |
T. J. Donovan | Vermont | Democratic | January 5, 2017 | 2021 | Suffolk University |
Mark Herring | Virginia | Democratic | January 11, 2014 | 2022 | University of Richmond |
Bob Ferguson | Washington | Democratic | January 16, 2013 | 2021 | New York University |
Patrick Morrisey | West Virginia | Republican | January 14, 2013 | 2021 | Rutgers University, Newark |
Josh Kaul | Wisconsin | Democratic | January 7, 2019 | 2023 | Stanford University |
Bridget Hill | Wyoming | Republican | January 7, 2019 | Appointed | University of Wyoming |
See also
- State constitutional officer (United States)
- National Association of Attorneys General
- List of U.S. statewide elected officials
References
^ abcd 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..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ abc "Elections for Attorney General to Take Place in 30 States". National Association of Attorneys General. National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
^ "2014 State and Territorial Attorneys General Election Results". National Association of Attorneys General. National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
^ "AG Spotlight: New Attorneys General". National Association of Attorneys General. National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
^ 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.
^ The title of the head of Puerto Rico's Justice Department is the Secretary of Justice, not Attorney General.
External links
- Listing of official State Attorney General websites