what is the role of the attorney general for arizona

by Prof. Davin Kertzmann 3 min read

The Attorney General's Office represents and provides legal advice to most State agencies; enforces consumer protection and civil rights laws; and prosecutes criminals charged with complex financial crimes and certain conspiracies involving illegal drugs.

What is the Arizona Attorney General’s office?

The Attorney General serves as the chief legal officer of the State. The Attorney General is mandated by our constitution and elected to a four-year term by the people of Arizona. The Attorney General's Office represents and provides legal advice to most State agencies; enforces consumer protection and civil rights laws; and prosecutes criminals charged with complex …

What is the role of the Attorney General?

The Arizona State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the state and the office is given authority by our state constitution. The Attorney General is elected to a four-year term but cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

Does the Arizona Constitution prescribe the powers of the Attorney General?

The Attorney General’s Office is committed to protecting Arizona and its citizens. Our offices remain open to the public, but due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, we encourage you to contact our office by phone or email whenever possible. For a list of contacts, go to https://www.azag.gov/contact-us. If you need to file a complaint, please visit our online …

What does the Arizona Attorney General do for felons?

What is the Attorney General’s role? The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters . … Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.

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What does an Attorney General do?

Attorneys general are the top legal officers of their state or territory. They advise and represent their legislature and state agencies and act as the “People's Lawyer” for the citizens.

What are the power of the attorney general?

The Attorney General can accept briefs but cannot appear against the Government. They cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings and accept the directorship of a company without the permission of the Government. The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General.

What is the difference between Attorney General and Solicitor General?

The Solicitor General of India is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. They are the second law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitors General for India. Currently, the Solicitor General of India is Tushar Mehta.

What is the Article 76?

Constitution of India. Attorney-General for India. (1) The President shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court to be Attorney-General for India.

How many terms can an attorney general serve in Arizona?

Term limits for the attorney general are defined by Article 5, Section 1, Version 2 of the Arizona Constitution, which prohibits an attorney general from serving more than two consecutive terms.

What happens if no candidate receives a majority of the vote?

If no candidates receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the votes, a runoff election is held between the two candidates that received the largest amount. If the two candidates in the runoff receive an equal number of votes, the state legislature chooses a winner.

How long is the Arizona Attorney General's term?

The state attorney general is a constitutionally -established officer, elected by the people of the state to a four-year term . The state attorney general is second (behind the Secretary of State) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Arizona. Headed by the Attorney General of Arizona, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office is ...

Does the Arizona Constitution prescribe the powers of the Attorney General?

While the state constitution establishes the office of Attorney General, it does not prescribe the powers of the office. Instead, the Arizona Constitution expressly provides that the powers and duties of the state attorney general are to be prescribed by the Arizona State Legislature. In pursuance of this constitutional mandate, the Arizona Legislature has prescribed that, under A.R.S. §41-193 (A) (1) – §41-193 (A) (8), the Attorney General of Arizona, through the Arizona Department of Law, shall:

What is the role of the Attorney General?

Attorneys throughout the country, the Attorney General may provide guidance interpreting the law to assist in prosecuting or defending the United States in legal proceedings. The Attorney General also oversees the federal prison system and all of the systems that pertain to it.

When was the Office of the Attorney General created?

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.

How many times has Barr been Attorney General?

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.

Who is in charge of the Justice Department?

The Attorney General is in charge of the Department and is responsible for all aspects of the Justice Department. The head of this vast bureaucracy has enough impact to shape the way laws are treated by law enforcement professionals across the country.

What is the Department of Justice?

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: Antitrust.

Who is Marissa Jordan?

Marissa Jordan is an accountant and freelance writer interested in current events, economics, and science. Formerly, she wrote for technical blogs on specialized software. When not writing or accounting, she likes spending time with family, reading, and trivia.

Where did Dr. Yuri Gomez graduate from?

She is a 1995 graduate of Princeton University and earned her Juris Doctorate in 2001 from the ASU College of Law, where she also received a Certificate in Federal Indian Law and served as a staff writer for the ASU Law Journal.

Who is Kimberly Dutcher?

Kimberly A. Dutcher is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and is of German and Swedish descent. She is of the Ta'neeszahnii Clan and is originally from Fort Defiance, Arizona. Ms. Dutcher has served as Deputy Attorney General since April 2019, and was confirmed by the Navajo Nation Council in October 2019.

What is the role of an attorney general?

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.

What is the role of a public advocate?

Issuing formal opinions to state agencies. Acting as public advocates in areas such as child support enforcement, consumer protections, antitrust and utility regulation. Proposing legislation. Enforcing federal and state environmental laws. Representing the state and state agencies before the state and federal courts.

What is the People's Lawyer podcast?

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.

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Current Officeholder

  • The current attorney general is Republican Mark Brnovich. Brnovich was sworn into office on January 5, 2015, for a four-year term. He was re-elected in 2018. Brnovich succeeded one-term incumbent Attorney General Tom Horne(R). Brnovich unseated Horne in the 2014 GOP primary and won the general election on November 4, 2014.
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Authority

  • The office of attorney general is established by the Arizona Constitutionas part of the state's executive department. Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)
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Qualifications

  • The Arizona Constitutionrequires all of the officers in the state's executive department, including the attorney general, to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years and an Arizona resident for five years. Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 2 Arizona law further requires the attorney general to have been a "practicing attorney before the supreme court of the state" for five years. …
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Elections

  • Arizonans elect their attorney general in midterm election years (2014, 2018, 2022, etc.) for a term of four years. The winner assumes office on the first Monday of January after his or her election. If no candidates receives a majority (over 50 percent) of the votes, a runoff election is held between the two candidates that received the largest amount. If the two candidates in the runof…
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Vacancies

  • Article 5, Section 8 of the state constitutionallows governor to fill vacancies in the office of attorney general by appointment.
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Duties

  • The attorney general is chief legal officer of the state. He or she "represents and provides legal advice to most State agencies; enforces consumer protection and civil rights laws; and prosecutes criminals charged with complex financial crimes and certain conspiracies involving illegal drugs." The attorney general brings and defends lawsuits on behalf of the state and also h…
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Divisions

  • The attorney general's office is the largest law office in Arizona, with approximately 400 attorneys and 1,000 employees. As of January 7, 2021, the Arizona Attorney General's Office is divided into the following departments: 1. Criminal Division 2. State Government Division 3. Child and Family Protection Division 4. Civil Litigation Division 5. Appeals and Constitutional Litigation Division 6. …
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Historical Officeholders

  • Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Attorney General of Arizona has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any a…
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Recent News

  • The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Arizona Attorney General.These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
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Contact Information

  • Capitol Address: Attorney General Tom Horne Office of the Attorney General 1275 West Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85007 Phone: (602) 542-5025 Toll Free Phone: (800) 352-8431 (toll free in State of Arizona, outside Maricopa and Pima Counties) Fax: (602) 542-4085 E-mail: [email protected]
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Overview

The Arizona Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Arizona, in the United States. This state officer is the head of the Arizona Department of Law, more commonly known as the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The state attorney general is a constitutionally-established officer, elected by the people of the state to a four-year term. The state attorney general is second (behind the Secretary …

Qualifications

The Arizona Constitution requires all of the officers in the state's executive department, including the attorney general, to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years and an Arizona resident for five years.
Arizona law further requires the attorney general to have been a "practicing attorney before the supreme court of the state" for at least five years before taking office, however the Arizona Supre…

Powers and duties

While the state constitution establishes the office of Attorney General, it does not prescribe the powers of the office. Instead, the Arizona Constitution expressly provides that the powers and duties of the state attorney general are to be prescribed by the Arizona State Legislature. In pursuance of this constitutional mandate, the Arizona Legislature has prescribed that, under A.R.S.§41-193(A)(1) – §41-193(A)(8), the Attorney General of Arizona, through the Arizona Departmen…

Arizona Attorneys General

• Coles Bashford 1864–1866
• John A. Rush 1866–1867
• Granville Henderson Oury 1869
• J. E. McCaffry ca. 1872

External links

• Arizona Attorney General Opinions
• Arizona Attorney General official website
• Arizona Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
• News and Commentary at FindLaw