While varying from one jurisdiction to the next due to statutory and constitutional mandates, the role of attorney general typically includes:
Full Answer
The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters. Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.
The United States attorney general (AG) leads the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters.
The Attorney General's responsibilities include safeguarding Californians from harm and promoting community safety, preserving California's spectacular natural resources, enforcing civil rights laws, and helping victims of identity theft, mortgage-related fraud, illegal business practices, and other consumer crimes.
The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters, advises the President and the heads of the executive departments of the government, and occasionally appears in person before the Supreme Court.
the PresidentAttorney General is appointed by the President on the advice of the government. There are the following qualifications: He should be an Indian Citizen. He must have either completed 5 years in High Court of any Indian state as a judge or 10 years in High Court as an advocate.
The president appoints U.S. attorneys, who mainly serve as administrators. Assistant U.S. attorneys handle the bulk of the trial work. The U.S. attorney general, who is the chief law enforcement officer in the United States and the head of the Department of Justice, has supervisory responsibility over U.S. attorneys.
Unlike other states that have 72-hour time limits, the state of California requires that every person arrested receive a charge or be let go within 48 hours of the arrest. A person that is arrested for any reason must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest at the very latest.
Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is responsible to the attorney general, and it reports its findings to U.S. Attorneys across the country. The FBI's intelligence activities are overseen by the Director of National Intelligence.
Salary Ranges for Attorney Generals The middle 57% of Attorney Generals makes between $101,019 and $254,138, with the top 86% making $560,998.
The president appoints U.S. attorneys, who mainly serve as administrators. Assistant U.S. attorneys handle the bulk of the trial work. The U.S. attorney general, who is the chief law enforcement officer in the United States and the head of the Department of Justice, has supervisory responsibility over U.S. attorneys.
Merrick GarlandUnited States / Attorney generalMerrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist serving as the 86th United States attorney general beginning in March 2021. He served as a circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. Wikipedia
The most common qualifications address minimum age, citizenship, residency, electoral status, and bar admission. Others prohibit the attorney general from holding multiple offices. Some states expressly prescribe these qualifications through their constitution or statute.
The Attorney General is the Head of the Justice Department and the attorney for the United States in all legal matters. They dispense legal advice to the president and the heads of other governmental agencies when requested. The Attorney General may support important cases that go to the Supreme Court of the United States if the case is deemed important in nature.
The Office of the Attorney General was created in 1789 and was intended to be a one-person position. The person in the position was supposed to be “learned in the law” and was tasked with conducting all suits in the Supreme Court and advising the president and cabinet in law-related matters.
The Department of Justice is responsible for most of the legal business of the government, and therefore, many of the law enforcement agencies throughout the country. There are six litigating divisions in the department:
Barr has served as Attorney General twice, once during the George H.W. Bush administration from 1991 to 1993, and currently in the Trump administration. Barr has been consistent in his determination that the Executive branch claims absolute executive authority, contrary to our system of checks and balances.
In a startling comment, Barr made late last year at the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing, Barr stated that communities that fail to show the respect and support that law enforcement deserves, finally stating that these communities “might find themselves without the police protection they need.”
Barr believes that congressional subpoenas and restrictions to the President’s removal power and legislative vetoes are encroachments on the power of the Executive branch . In addition, Barr has indicated he is willing to do whatever it takes to preserve the power of the Trump presidency, even if constitutional violations occur.
When Barr served as Attorney General in the Bush (41) administration, he orchestrated the pardons for six people caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal. The ACLU has concluded of Barr’s record in both private and public life that “Barr amassed a record of advancing policies that advocated dragnet government surveillance, mass incarceration, and discriminatory profiling while pushing an aggressive theory of expansive executive power that sidelines Congress’ constitutional role in checking the president.”
The federal attorney general’s job is to head the Department of Justice. He or she also provides legal counsel to the oval office as a member of the president’s cabinet. Other duties of the U.S. attorney general include:
The Florida attorney general is chosen by election, while other state attorney generals may be selected by their governors or legislature.
Cove Law has significant experience defending federal investigations and formal actions by the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Finance Protection Board and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as similar matters on the state level by the respective state Attorney General’s Offices and other local agencies.
The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United Stateson all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments". Some of these duties have since been transferred to the United States solicitor general and the White House counsel .
Attorney General is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$ 221,400, as of January 2021.
Presidential transition[edit] It is the practice for the attorney general, along with the other Cabinet secretaries and high-level political appointees of the President, to tender a resignation with effect on the Inauguration Day(January 20) of a new president.
Gerson was fourth in the line of succession at the Justice Department, but other senior DOJ officials had already resigned.[14] Janet Reno, President Clinton's nominee for attorney general, was confirmed on March 12,[15]and he resigned the same day.
For example, upon the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch left her position, so then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, who had also tendered her resignation, was asked to stay on to serve as the acting attorney general until the confirmation of the new attorney general Jeff Sessions, who had been nominated for the office in November 2016 by then- President-elect Donald Trump.
The Department of Justice was established in 1870 to support the attorneys general in the discharge of their responsibilities.
The attorney general prosecutes cases that involve the government and gives advice to the president and heads of the executive departments when needed. As the chief officer of the Department of Justice, the attorney general enforces federal laws, provides legal counsel in federal cases, interprets the laws that govern executive departments, ...
Some attorneys general are elected in statewide contests, while others are appointed by the governor, legislature or supreme court. The projects that an attorney general can take on are wide ranging.
While attorneys are responsible for prosecuting offenses against the United States and prosecuting or defending in proceedings in which the United States requires representation, marshals issue orders and processes under the authority of the United States.
The longest serving state attorney general was Frank J. Kelley who served for 37 years. He served from 1961 to 1998. At the time of his election at the age of 36, he was the youngest in his state's history. By the end of his term at the age of 74, he was the oldest ever to serve. He earned the moniker "Eternal General" [source: Michigan Bar ].
There is no designated term for the attorney general, rather the president can remove him or her from the office at any time. Additionally, the attorney general can be impeached and tried by Congress if deemed necessary.
According to the job description, the Attorney General must also enforce federal laws, engage in legal counseling within federal cases, describe and enact laws that govern executive departments, investigates supposed violations of federal laws. It is important to make the distinction between state and general attorney.
Throughout the history of the United States of America there have been 83 Attorney Generals. Janet Reno has held the office of Attorney General for eight years, making it one of the longest serving U.S. attorney generals.
However, William Wirt served for twelve years as the head of the Justice Department, from November 15, 1817 to March 3, 1829. Other important Attorney Generals who served for more than four years are: Eric Holder. William F. Smith. Thomas Gregory.
Department of Justice, the Attorney General must be a law school graduate. Afterward, the person must be a licensed attorney who practiced for at least five years. Other than that, the person must have U.S. citizenship and to be a qualified voter.
There are 50 state attorney generals, one for each state. Each one of them is nominated by the President and approved by the U.S. Senate. However, there is only one General Attorney, also appointed and confirmed by the President and U.S. Senate.
As the primary legal officer, the attorney general office is the place from where investigations are conducted. The position originates from 13th century England. Back then the title was “King’s Attorney”. The position, up until the American Revolution, became that of an advisor to both the Royalty and agencies that composed the government.
Therefore, the office of the attorney general, head of the U.S. Department of Justice must first and foremost provide legal counseling to state agencies as well as the President, in legal matters that threaten the U.S. Government.
The attorney general’s office investigates crimes or schemes that span multiple counties. It also works with federal investigators on cases that span multiple states.
In addition to investigating criminal operations, the attorney general’s office looks into scams targeting seniors, violations of the state’s clean air and water laws and evaluates whether mergers break antitrust laws. On April 26, voters in both parties will have a choice for attorney general. Do the voters prefer a candidate with political ...
While Preate talked highly of being a district attorney, he felt that leadership experience was attainable from many places.
The criminal division investigates drug trafficking, child predators (more than 150 were arrested each of the past two years), organized crime and public corruption, according to the office’s 2015 annual report.
To become attorney general, you have to be able to practice law in Pennsylvania, be at least 30 years old and have lived in Pennsylvania for the past seven years (exceptions for politicians and public employees). Of the five candidates, there are two politicians and three with extensive experience as prosecutors.
The office works on criminal, civil and consumer protection cases and has 830 employees in offices across the state, according to the latest figures provided by the attorney general’s office. More than half of those employees work on criminal cases.
Republican candidate Joe Peters was a Scranton police officer, an organized crime and drug prosecutor in the attorney general's office for 15 years, a federal mafia prosecutor and oversaw a White House drug trafficking program. He most recently served as Kathleen Kane’s spokesman for about eight months in 2013 and 2014.
Attorney General Paxton is focused on protecting Texans and upholding Texas laws and the Constitution. Fighting federal overreach, he filed 27 lawsuits against the Obama administration during a two-year stretch, of which six were heard in the U.S. Supreme Court. He's obtained an injunction or other winning ruling in more than 75 percent of the cases he's brought against the federal government.
He was re-elected to a second term in 2018. As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Paxton leads more than 4,000 employees in 38 divisions and 117 offices around Texas.
First elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002, Attorney General Paxton represented House District 70 for 10 years, one of the fastest-growing regions in the state. In 2012, he was elected to the Texas state Senate, representing Senate District 8 in Collin and Dallas counties.
Attorney General Paxton graduated from Baylor University, where he served as student body president, earning a B.A. in psychology and an M.B.A. After receiving a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, he worked as an attorney at Strasburger & Price, LLP, in-house counsel for J.C. Penney Company, and headed up his own law firm for 14 years in McKinney.