Attorney General of Virginia | |
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Type | Elected constitutional position |
Term length | Four years |
Formation | 1776 |
First holder | Edmund Randolph |
Virginia Attorney General | |
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Current Officeholder | |
Attorney General of Virginia Jason Miyares Republican Party Assumed office: 2022-01-15 | |
Elections | |
Next election: | November 4, 2025 |
Secretary of State of West Virginia | |
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Incumbent Mac Warner since January 16, 2017 | |
Style | The Honorable |
Seat | West Virginia State Capitol, West Virginia Capitol Complex Charleston, West Virginia |
Term length | Four years, no term limit |
The attorney general is the chief legal officer for the state of West Virginia, providing legal representation for all state agencies, officials, commissions, and boards.
The term begins on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of January next after the election.
In 2020, the attorney general received a salary of $95,000 according to the Council of State Governments.
The budget for the attorney general's office in Fiscal Year 2021 was $4,953,457.
The Attorney General Speaks for the legal interests of the State. Pursuant to the Attorney General's broad mission, the Office is responsible for providing skilled legal counsel and representation to the State, its officers, agencies, and boards on a wide range of legal matters.
If the office of attorney general becomes vacant, it is the duty of the governor to fill the position by appointment. The appointee serves until a new attorney general is elected.
Article IV, Section 4 of the West Virginia Constitution establishes the qualifications of office as such: at least 25 years old. a citizen entitled to vote. a resident of West Virginia for at least the preceding 5 years. No person, except citizens entitled to vote, shall be elected or appointed to any state, county or municipal office;
Between 1999 to 2004, Morrisey served as the Deputy Staff Director and Chief Health Care Counsel to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, helping draft and negotiate major legislation, including the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Act of 2002.
Patrick Morrisey. Patrick Morrisey was elected as the Attorney General for the State of West Virginia on November 6, 2012, reelected to a second term Nov. 8, 2016, and reelected to a third term Nov. 3, 2020. He was initially sworn into office on January 14, 2013.
The Attorney General of West Virginia is the chief legal advisor to the West Virginia state government and is the state's chief law enforcement officer. The office was created by Article VII, Section 1 of the first Constitution of West Virginia in 1863. Under the current state constitution (1872), the attorney general is an executive department ...
Caldwell was the first Republican to hold the office, and Joseph Sprigg of Hampshire County was the first Democrat. Darrell McGraw, who held the position from 1993–2013, is the longest-serving attorney general and served the most consecutive terms, being elected to the office five times.
The attorney general represents the state in all claims processed by the United States Court of Claims, prosecutes civil actions as prescribed by law, enforces the state consumer, antitrust, and preneed burial statutes, and enforces the West Virginia Human Rights Act and the West Virginia Fair Housing Act. The attorney general is also an ex officio ...
Their election can be held at any time as prescribed by law. The attorney general's term of office is four years and commences on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of the month of January following their election.
^ Aquilla B. Caldwell was elected attorney general on May 28, 1863, but did not take office until statehood on June 20, 1863.
In 1872 , when the second (and current) Constitution of West Virginia was enacted, the constitution averred that citizens residing in the state at the time of its enactment were also authorized to be elected or appointed as attorney general, regardless of the length of the residency in West Virginia.
The constitution further specifies that the attorney general shall reside in the seat of state government, Charleston, during their term of office. In Charleston, they are to maintain public records, books, and papers pertaining to their office, and perform all duties prescribed by state law. As of 2012, the attorney general receives a salary ...
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
West Virginia voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
The attorney general is the chief legal officer for the state of West Virginia, providing legal representation for all state agencies, officials, commissions and boards. West Virginia currently has a divided government: Democrats hold the governorship while Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature. The state was under Democratic trifecta control from 2001 until 2014 .
West Virginia had a divided government at the time of the election: Democrats held the governorship, while Republicans controlled both chambers of the state legislature. The state had been under Democratic trifecta control from 2001 until the 2014 elections, when Republicans gained control of the House of Delegates and state Senate for the first time since the 1930s.
Tackling the opioid crisis has been a top priority for the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office since Attorney General Morrisey was sworn into office in January, 2013. As part of this effort, the Office conducted a multi-year investigation into federal regulators’ role in allowing excessive over-production of the prescription opioids that fueled this crisis.
Attorney General’s Best Practices Initiative. The first-of-its-kind initiative in West Virginia, aimed at eradicating prescription drug abuse by better equipping the state’s prescribers and pharmacists, has garnered broad support from stakeholders across the state and nation.
The Attorney General’s plan provides recommendations to prescribers and pharmacists who prescribe or dispense opioid prescriptions across West Virginia. It is designed to reduce misuse, while preserving legitimate patient access to necessary treatment.
Education: Sam earned his law degree from Washington & Lee University, and his college degree from Brandeis University.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey did not reply to a Gazette-Mail questionnaire nor a request for an interview.