The Attorney General’s Office offers a new tool for Ohio gun buyers: a database that lists the serial numbers of firearms that have been reported stolen. ... 855-BCI-OHIO Settle a debt: 877-607-6400. AG YOST'S TOP PRIORITES Visit our page to LEARN MORE. ... State & Local Government; Formal Opinions; Ohio School Threat Assessment Training ...
Led by the state’s chief law officer, the Attorney General’s Office has played a vital role in shaping Ohio’s past and present. Since his inauguration in January 2019, current Attorney General Dave Yost and his 1,500-person staff have been working to help chart a strong future for Ohioans by fighting injustice, righting wrongs and otherwise protecting the state and its families.
Attorney General Dave Yost. Dave Yost became Ohio’s 51st Attorney General on January 14, 2019, bringing to the office his extensive experience rooting out fraud, holding the corrupt accountable and reforming government. Yost earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and law degree from Capital University. After working as a Columbus Citizen Journal reporter, …
Shawn Busken, director of outside counsel for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, is responsible for the engagement, retention and oversight of private sector attorneys appointed to represent state entities (agencies, colleges, universities, retirement systems, boards and commissions) and to work on securities cases and all other contingency cases.
The attorney general 's principal duties were to give legal advice to the state government, to represent the state in legal matters, and to advise the state's county prosecutors.
Originally, the attorney general was appointed by the legislature. With the adoption of Ohio's second constitution in 1851, the attorney general became an elected office. The attorney general's duties were drawn very generally at that time.
The voters of the U.S. state of Ohio elect an attorney general for a four-year term. The winning candidate is shown in bold .
In 1952, the General Assembly passed a statute that added to the attorney general's responsibilities, including trusteeship over charitable trusts, and legal advice to more government agencies. The act stated that the attorney general could prosecute individuals only if the governor requested so in writing. Starting in 1954, the term of office was ...
A special election was held in 2008 to find a permanent replacement; then– Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray ( D) beat out Michael Crites ( R ), and Robert M. Owens ( I) for the position.
Deputy Attorney General for Major Litigation#N#As Deputy Attorney General for Major Litigation, Jonathan Blanton works directly with the Ohio Solicitor General as well as the Antitrust, Constitutional Offices, Consumer Protection, and Charitable Law sections of the Attorney General’s Office.#N#Blanton manages some of the office’s highest-profile civil matters, including ongoing litigation against a number of opioid manufacturers and pharmaceutical distributors. He has served as a subject-matter expert and trainer for the National Association of Attorneys General on various topics, including tactics for maximizing the effectiveness of prescription drug monitoring programs, regulating medical professionals, and developing and litigating claims against pharmaceutical supply-chain participants.#N#Before joining Attorney General Yost’s administration, Blanton served as chief of the office’s Consumer Protection Section for more than four years. A litigator at heart, he has extensive experience in investigating and prosecuting felony criminal cases, including 10 years as the Jackson County prosecutor.#N#Blanton is a graduate of Ohio University and the University of Kentucky College of Law.
First Assistant Attorney General#N#Brenda L. Rinehart oversees the legal operations of the office. She uses skills acquired during her years of experience in both the private and public sectors to manage pressing legal issues and to ensure that operational needs are met.#N#Rinehart previously worked for seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. While in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she handled civil litigation and bankruptcy matters and assisted with select criminal litigation.#N#She has worked at all levels of government, starting her career with the state during the final administration of Gov. James A. Rhodes. She worked for city and county governments as a department director, staff attorney and in various other positions.#N#Rinehart also served for eight years as chief of staff for then-State Auditor Dave Yost. In that role, she focused on the administrative and legal operations of the office, overseeing the day-to-day work and assisting with implementation of Auditor Yost’s policy initiatives.#N#Rinehart holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and a law degree from Capital University. She has been admitted to practice in Ohio, U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.
For 16 years, from 1999 to 2015, Marrison was editor of The Columbus Dispatch – the longest-serving editor in the history of the capital-city newspaper. In that role, he oversaw the newsgathering operations, managing the newspaper, its websites and related publications.
As senior special projects director , Glenn Sheller writes speeches and op-eds, conducts policy research, and reports and writes special reports on topics designated by Attorney General Dave Yost.
During that time, she also served as a special prosecutor in numerous criminal cases in counties throughout the state.#N#Earlier in her career, O’Brien served as an assistant attorney general in the Attorney General’s Office and as an assistant prosecutor in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office . Prior to those roles, she worked as a staff attorney for the clinical programs within the Ohio State University College of Law, for the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program and for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.#N#In 2016, O’Brien was recognized as Ohio’s Outstanding Prosecuting Attorney for her dedication to justice. She has been an active member of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorney’s Association for nearly a decade, serving as president in 2019, and has given presentations on a wide range of prosecutorial matters and other legal topics.#N#O’Brien has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of Toledo. She is licensed to practice in Ohio, South Carolina, the Northern and Southern District Courts of Ohio, the District Court of South Carolina, and the 4th and 6th circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals.#N#O’Brien and her husband, Bill, live in Delaware County.
Benjamin Marrison, chief of staff for Attorney General Dave Yost, is responsible for all non-legal matters, including operations, public policy and communications. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Marrison was communications director and senior adviser for Yost at the Auditor of State’s Office during Yost’s second term.
The attorney general has three primary duties: responsible for legal business of Ohio state government and its departments, boards and agencies and for the collection of debts owed to the state. enforcement authority in consumer protection, charitable solicitation, antitrust actions and organized crime.
According to Article III, Section 1 of the state Constitution, the attorney general in Ohio is elected every four years in midterm election years (e.g. 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030, etc.).
The Ohio Constitution establishes the office of the attorney general in Article III, Section 1 : The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, and an attorney general, who shall be elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, ...
In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $117,582 according to the Council of State Governments.
Term limits for the attorney general are defined by Article III, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution, which prohibits an attorney general from serving more than two consecutive terms.
The attorney general provides legal representation and advice to all state government departments, agencies and commissions, provides legal opinions at the request of other public officials, and handles all criminal appeals from state trial courts.
In the event of a vacancy, the governor appoints a successor to serve until the next general election in an even numbered year that occurs more than 40 days after the seat becomes vacant.
Please be aware that the Attorney General's Office cannot provide legal assistance or advice to individuals. Information you receive from the Attorney General's Office is informal guidance. It is not legal advice. Any information provided to the Attorney General is considered a public record.
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1846–1851. As the first Attorney General of Ohio, Henry Stanbery, a Whig, spent much of his term organizing the newly created position. He set up a case-tracking system and a uniform crime report format for county prosecutors and, in 1848, was granted the ability to negotiate with debtors. This gave Stanbery the flexibility to collect ...
David Adams Hollingsworth was appointed to the Office of Attorney General to fill the remainder of George Nash' s term. He also served two terms in the Ohio Senate where he passed the "Hollingsworth Insurance Law." This law reformed the lax laws governing co-operative life insurance companies in Ohio. During the Civil War, Hollingsworth served in Company B, 25th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was stationed at Camp Chase.
Before becoming attorney general, Timothy Hogan practiced law in Wellston, Ohio. During his career as a lawyer, he never lost a murder case in Ohio. He was also counsel in the case of West Virginia, Dungan v. the Davis Coal and Coke Co., which was finally settled in favor of Hogan's client. Although he lost bids for Congress in 1896 and attorney general in 1908, he was again nominated for attorney general by the Democratic Party in 1910 and was elected for two consecutive terms.
Appointed by Governor Brough as attorney general to fill the seat left vacant by William P. Richardson, Chauncey Olds held this office for only a year. Before becoming attorney general, he served as a state senator from 1848 until 1850. He distinguished himself as a public figure during the "Hamilton County Question," a great political controversy of the time. During the Civil War, Olds served as commissioner for exemption from the draft and also dedicated much of his time to the enlistment of volunteers for the war.
George Nash is well known for serving as Ohio's 41st governor. During his administration, he passed laws that gave the governor more control in local management of the state and also raised corporate income taxes and decreased property taxes. His career in public service earned him the reputation of being an able and forceful leader. Nash left the Office of Attorney General after being appointed to an Ohio Supreme Court commission to help the court finish hearing all its cases.
John Price was very successful as attorney general of Ohio. He collected $182,944.49 more than Joseph McGhee during his first 18 months in office. Price also drafted an amendment to the Worker's Compensation Law that was passed by the 83rd General Assembly. This amendment eliminated the loopholes in the previous law. Before becoming attorney general, he was a member of the Recreation Commission and was active in establishing the Boy Scouts in Columbus.