when did kamala harris become state attorney general?

by Ms. Sharon Luettgen 6 min read

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 and as a United States senator representing California from 2017 to 2021.

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Who is Kamala Harris?

Harris served as the junior United States senator from Cali fornia from 2017 to 2021. Harris defeated Loretta Sanchez in the 2016 Senate election to become the second African American woman and the first South Asian American to serve in the United States Senate.

Where did Kamala Harris go to high school?

After high school, in 1982, Harris attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C. While at Howard, she interned as a mailroom clerk for California senator Alan Cranston, chaired the economics society, led the debate team, and joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

What is the privacy policy of Harris?

In February 2012, Harris announced an agreement with Apple, Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Research in Motion to mandate that apps sold in their stores display prominent privacy policies informing users of what private information they were sharing, and with whom. Facebook later joined the agreement. That summer, Harris announced the creation of a Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit to enforce laws related to cyber privacy, identity theft, and data breaches. Later the same year, Harris notified a hundred mobile-app developers of their non-compliance with state privacy laws and asked them to create privacy policies or face a $2,500 fine each time a non-compliant app is downloaded by a resident of California.

Why does Kamala Harris wear pearls?

Although speculation during the 2020 presidential campaign emerged that she began wearing them as an homage to her Howard University sorority, or even to Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, known for wearing a distinctive collar when issuing a dissent, in her 2019 biography The Truths We Hold Harris had previously explained that she began doing so after being given some as a gift by her mother's mentor Howard.

What did Harris do to reduce truancy?

In 2006, as part of an initiative to reduce the city's skyrocketing homicide rate, Harris led a city-wide effort to combat truancy for at-risk elementary school youth in San Francisco. Declaring chronic truancy a matter of public safety and pointing out that the majority of prison inmates and homicide victims are dropouts or habitual truants, Harris's office met with thousands of parents at high-risk schools and sent out letters warning all families of the legal consequences of truancy at the beginning of the fall semester, adding she would prosecute the parents of chronically truant elementary students; penalties included a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail. The program was controversial when introduced.

Why did Harris question Nielsen?

Later that month, Harris questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for favoring Norwegian immigrants over others and claiming to be unaware that Norway is a predominantly white country.

Where did Harris go to law school?

Harris then returned to California to attend law school at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law through its Legal Education Opportunity Program (LEOP).

How long was Kamala Harris' term?

Harris' first go-around was as the district attorney general of San Francisco. Her term lasted seven years, from 2004 to 2011. Then, from 2011 to 2017, she went on to serve the state of California as attorney general before taking on the role of Senator.

What did Kamala Harris tackle?

She tackled racial bias and police brutality (kind of). In 2015, under Harris' jurisdiction as state attorney general, California became the first statewide agency to adopt a body camera program and also enforced a "first of its kind" law enforcement training. The then-presidential candidate reminded people of her work during one of the debates.

What was the first agency to mandate body cameras?

As Attorney General, my Department of Justice became the first statewide agency to mandate body cameras and launched the first implicit bias program in the country. I've spent my career working to reform the criminal justice system. #DemDebate

Did Kamala Harris apologize for truancy?

However, this policy ended up generalizing the truancy issue, placing blame on parents with circumstances outside their control. Harris has since apologized for criminalizing parents in a Pod Save America interview. "This was never the attention," she said. “I regret that that has happened and the thought that anything I did could have led to that."

Did Kamala Harris reform the criminal justice system?

Harris has since responded to Gabbard's claims, saying Harris “did the work of significantly reforming the criminal justice system of a state of 40 million people. I am proud of making a decision to not just give fancy speeches or be in a legislative body and give speeches on the floor,” she said. “But actually doing the work of being in the position to use the power that I had to reform a system that is badly in need of reform.”

Is Kamala Harris against marijuana?

Her stance on marijuana has evolved. In 2010, Harris was staunchly opposed to the use of recreational marijuana. “Spending two decades in court rooms, Harris believes that drug selling harms communities,” her then campaign manager Brian Brokaw told Capitol Weekly.

Why did Kamala Harris choose her career?

Harris said she chose her career because she wanted to be “at the table where the decisions are made.”.

Where did Kamala Harris start?

Kamala Harris ’ rise to political power started in California, where she served as a district attorney and attorney general for the state. And it has culminated in a 2020 presidential run.

Why did Harris not charge Mnuchin?

Notably, Harris declined to charge Steven Mnuchin, now President Trump ’s treasury secretary, for allegedly violating state foreclosure laws when he ran OneWest bank. Under his leadership, the bank foreclosed on more than 36,000 homes, according to The Hill.

How much did Harris get from banks?

Out of the $25 billion deal she helped negotiate with other state attorney generals, California homeowners received nearly $20 billion in mortgage relief and assistance for people who had their homes foreclosed from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, according to her office.

What website did Harris go after?

She went after website Backpage.com. As attorney general, Harris was a fierce opponent of the advertising website Backpage, which has been widely accused of knowingly aiding human traffickers. It was seized by the FBI in April 2018. She filed multiple charges against the site’s CEO and shareholders, including money laundering, ...

What did Harris win in 2016?

Harris won a $1.1 billion judgment against the controversial for-profit Corinthian Colleges in 2016. Harris accused the company, which shuttered in 2015, of predatory advertising practices and having “profited off the backs of poor people.”

Why did Matt Smith denounce Harris?

Matt Smith, a writer for SF Weekly, derided Harris for refusing to turn over files related to clergy abuse within the San Francisco Archdiocese in 2010. At the time, Harris was campaigning to become attorney general.

When was Kamala Harris sworn in?

Kamala Harris being sworn in as U.S. vice president, as her husband Doug Emhoff (right) and Joe Biden (left) look on, Washington, D.C., January 20, 2021. Kamala Harris waving to the crowd after being sworn in as U.S. vice president, Washington, D.C., January 20, 2021.

Who is Kamala Harris?

Kamala Harris, in full Kamala Devi Harris, (born October 20, 1964, Oakland, California, U.S.), 49th vice president of the United States (2021– ) in the Democratic administration of Pres. Joe Biden. She was the first woman and the first African American to hold the post.

What degree did Kamala Harris get?

Kamala Harris earned a B.A. in political science and economics from Howard University in 1986 and a law degree from Hastings College in 1989. Her father, who was Jamaican, taught at Stanford University, and her mother, the daughter of an Indian diplomat, was a cancer researcher. Her younger sister, Maya, later became a public policy advocate.

When did Kamala Harris declare her candidacy?

In early 2015 Harris declared her candidacy, and on the campaign trail she called for immigration and criminal-justice reforms, increases to the minimum wage, and protection of women’s reproductive rights. She easily won the 2016 election. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.

Who was the first black woman to be elected vice president?

Kamala Harris, 49th vice president of the United States, is the first Black woman to have been elected vice president. She represented California in the U.S. Senate from 2017 to 2021 and served as the state’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017.

What is Harris' book Smart on Crime about?

Harris’s book, Smart on Crime (2009; cowritten with Joan O’C. Hamilton), was considered a model for dealing with the problem of criminal recidivism. In 2012 Harris delivered a memorable address at the Democratic National Convention, raising her national profile. Two years later she married attorney Douglas Emhoff.

Who went after Kamala Harris?

Anyone interested in justice was entitled to feel a Chris Matthews thrill up their leg when Tulsi Gabbard went after Kamala Harris for her record as state attorney general at the Detroit debate.

How did Judge Hill decide to investigate this question on his own?

But Judge Hill decided to investigate this question on his own by consulting some tide charts he found on a website. The tide, he wrote in his denial, was low at that time, so he believed that Doe could have reached the stairs without getting wet. How did he conclude that the tide was low rather than at the level NOAA had verified? Simple. When he went to his tide chart website, he didn’t bother to change the setting from Greenwich Mean Time to Pacific Standard Time.

Did Harris allow DNA testing?

Gabbard pointed out that as California’s AG, Harris refused to allow DNA testing that would’ve exonerated a death-row inmate and prosecuted more than 1,000 marijuana cases—though as a candidate she later laughed with a radio host about her own pot-smoking past.

Who is the lead attorney for SPI?

First would come the federal case. SPI’s lead lawyer, William Warne, looked forward to a decisive win that would provide the added benefit of forcing investigator White to choose between perjuring himself on the stand or admitting how dishonestly he’d done his job.

Is Eric's case dismissed in the 9th Circuit?

But no. Not in the Court of Appeal, not in California Supreme Court, not in federal district court, and finally, not in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal—all of which summarily dismissed Eric’s case.

Did Harris pull the case?

But did Harris’s office pull the case? No. Instead, they pressed on, only to be smacked down by the trial judge.

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Overview

Attorney General of California (2011–2017)

Nearly two years before the 2010 election, Harris announced she planned to run. She also stated she would run only if then-Attorney General Jerry Brown did not seek re-election for that position. Brown instead chose to run for governor and Harris consolidated support from prominent California Democrats. Both of California's senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Speaker Nanc…

Early life, family and education (1964–1990)

Kamala Devi Harris was born in Oakland, California, on October 20, 1964. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a Tamil Indian biologist, whose work on the progesterone receptor gene stimulated advances in breast cancer research, had arrived in the United States from India in 1958 as a 19-year-old graduate student in nutrition and endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley; Gopalan r…

Early career (1990–2004)

In 1990, Harris was hired as a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, California, where she was described as "an able prosecutor on the way up". In 1994, Speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown, who was then dating Harris, appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and later to the California Medical Assistance Commission. Harris took a six-month leave of absence in 1994 from her duties, then afterward resumed as prosecutor during the years she sa…

District Attorney of San Francisco (2004–2011)

In 2002, Harris prepared to run for District Attorney of San Francisco against Hallinan (the incumbent) and Bill Fazio. Harris was the least-known of the three candidates but persuaded the Central Committee to withhold its endorsement from Hallinan. Harris and Hallinan advanced to the general election runoff with 33 and 37 percent of the vote, respectively.

U.S. Senate (2017–2021)

After more than 20 years as a U.S. Senator from California, Senator Barbara Boxer announced in January 2015 that she would not run for reelection in 2016. Harris announced her candidacy for the Senate seat the following week. Harris was a top contender from the beginning of her campaign.
The 2016 California Senate election used California's new top-two primary for…

2020 presidential election (2019–2020)

Harris had been considered a top contender and potential frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. In June 2018, she was quoted as "not ruling it out". In July 2018, it was announced that she would publish a memoir, a sign of a possible run. On January 21, 2019, Harris officially announced her candidacy for president of the United States in the 2020 United St…

Vice presidency (2021–present)

Following the election of Joe Biden as U.S. president in the 2020 election, Harris assumed office as vice president of the United States on January 20, 2021. She is the United States' first female vice president, the highest-ranking female elected official in U.S. history, and the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. She is also the second person of color to hold the post…