The types of cases that are typically investigated and prosecuted by this office are:
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 ensures the state's laws are followed and defends challenges to state law in court. The elected official oversees the California Department of Justice, which has over 4,500 employees and is one of the largest agencies in the state.
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 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.
In layman terms, Chief Justice is a Judge and Attorney General is a Lawyer, both have distinct roles to play. The Attorney General of India is the highest law officer of the country and he/she is the chief legal advisor to the GoI. He is responsible to assist the government in all its legal matters.
A target letter is commonly used in white collar cases and it is a way for the federal government to notify you that you are a target of a criminal investigation. A target is defined by the United States Attorney's Office as someone against whom there is substantial evidence.
Merrick GarlandUnited States / Attorney general
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer.
What is the role of the Attorney General? Head of the Department of Justice, top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the United States, defends the US and the Constitution in court cases.
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.
Role and functions The attorney-general is the minister responsible for legal affairs, national and public security. The attorney-general also serves as a general legal adviser to the Cabinet, and has carriage of legislation dealing with copyright, human rights and a range of other subjects.
The Attorney General has primary authority for enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws, prosecution of criminal appeals and some complex white-collar crimes, the Statewide Grand Jury, training and certification of peace officers, and most natural resource and environmental matters.
Learn more about the Attorney General's duties, powers, and how current Attorney General, William Barr, has handled his position overseeing the DOJ.
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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, heads federal jails and penal institutions, and examines alleged violations of federal laws.
The Mission of the Office of the Attorney General The Office of Attorney General champions liberty and justice for Texas. The Philosophy of the Office of the Attorney General The principles of individual liberty, limited government, economic freedom, and personal responsibility guide the work of the Office of Attorney General.
State Attorney General's Duties. The primary duties of state attorneys general include representing state governments in legal actions and protecting the public through criminal and civil litigation. They are also empowered to issue opinions to guide the legal actions of public agencies. Typically, attorneys ...
Between the years 2018 and 2028, attorney general jobs are expected to undergo a growth rate described as "as fast as average" at 6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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 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.
Major cases and important decisions get pushed up the chain of command for the attorney general to have the final word.
In June 2005, then-Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson sued Arkansas poultry farmers, including industry giant Tyson Foods, Inc., for polluting the Illinois River with chicken waste and hazardous chemicals. [iv] The suit was brought under the federal Superfund law and other state statutes. [v] Edmondson brought on a consortium of outside firms on a contingency fee basis because his office could not undertake the expense of handling such major litigation. [vi] When the defendants’ challenged this arrangement, the court dismissed the motion, allowing the suit to continue with the help of outside counsel. [vii] The case is still pending. [viii]
In October 2007, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson settled a lawsuit against Allianz Life Insurance Company for marketing and selling $259 million worth of unsuitable long-term annuities to seniors. [xxv] The settlement, among other things, established a restitution process to review sales to more than 7,000 Minnesota seniors. [xxvi]
In July 2010, Cordray announced a proposed settlement of $725 million with AIG over investor losses from the company’s participation in an “illegal, industry-wide market division scheme involving the payment of improper ‘steering’ contingent commissions as well as bid-rigging and accounting fraud.” [xxxix] Private counsel represented the lead plaintiffs (the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund), along with the Ohio AG, in the class action suit. [xl] The court granted preliminary approval of the settlement in October 2011. As of January 2012, the agreement had not been finalized. [xli]
In July 2005, 18 Attorneys General settled charges of antitrust and consumer protection law violations brought against Abbott Laboratories and Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc. for $30.7 million. [ix] Of that amount, $28.7 million went to consumers and third-party payers. The remaining $2 million reimbursed state agency claims and litigation costs incurred by Florida, Kansas and Colorado, states that led the investigation and initiated the AG suit. [x]
In August 2009, a federal court approved a $475 million securities class action settlement between then-Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Merrill Lynch, which allegedly, among other things, “made materially false and misleading statements in its financial statements concerning its exposure to residential mortgage-related debt, including subprime and collateralized debt obligations.” [xxxiv] Outside attorneys served as co-lead counsel in the litigation. [xxxv]
In January 2006, 49 states and the District of Columbia entered into a settlement agreement with Ameriquest Mortgage Company over alleged illegal lending practices. [xiii] Under the settlement, Ameriquest agreed to pay $295 million to consumers and $30 million to the Attorneys General to cover costs and fund consumer education and consumer protection enforcement programs. [xiv] The agreement also compelled Ameriquest to make sweeping reforms of its business practices. [xv]
Following referral, another Deputy Attorney General is assigned to the case, may request additional investigation, and occasionally decides against filing an Accusation. Such decisions are usually based on a judgment regarding the strength of the evidence and whether it will be found to meet the State's high burden of proof at Hearing.
Referral to the Attorney General (AG) for the filing of an Accusation (or a Statement of Issues ) may occur following a complaint. A referral will be made only if a comprehensive investigation by the AG's investigator, and review by the Board's DPM consultants and experts, as well as by a Deputy Attorney General, indicates that the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) warrants disciplinary action for violation of the California Business & Professions Code.
The Board's Decision may be appealed to the Board itself or to the courts. Once the AG prepares and the Board's executive officer signs an Accusation, that information appears on the License Verification & Public Disclosure screen.
In order to fulfill these and other responsibilities, the attorney general has organized his office into eight divisions: Litigation, Consumer Protection, Governmental Affairs, Environmental Protection, Criminal Appeals, Governmental and Financial Entities, Labor, and Public Safety.
The attorney general renders official opinions to the General Assembly, the governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, the heads of the various state departments and the circuit or prosecuting attorneys on questions of law relating to their duties.
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.
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.
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.
As chief legal officers of the states, commonwealths, District of Columbia, and territories of the United States, the role of an attorney general is to serve as counselor to state government agencies and legislatures, and as a representative of the public interest.
The People’s Lawyer is a biweekly podcast from NAAG that explores the role of state and territory attorneys general as chief legal officers and their work protecting the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution.