why is it called attorney general

What is the purpose of the Attorney General?

• 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

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What does the Attorney General do?

What does often make the news are attorney general opinions on hot-button issues. The attorney general is required by statute to provide legal opinions to other state officials upon their request. The opinions must be based on the law as it is at the time and they must be accurate. Otherwise, the state could face substantial liability.

What does Attorney General mean?

Webster Dictionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition: Attorney-general noun. the chief law officer of the state, empowered to act in all litigation in which the law-executing power is a party, and to advise this supreme executive whenever required.

What can the Attorney General do for You?

While varying from one jurisdiction to the next due to statutory and constitutional mandates, the role of attorney general typically includes: 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.

Are attorney generals called general?

Court documents confirm an attorney general and solicitor general are addressed and referred to as 'General (Surname)' in courtroom settings. Federal and state supreme and appellate court proceedings refer to attorneys general as 'General (Surname)'.

What is the Attorney General also known as?

About Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Is the US attorney the same as the attorney general?

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.

How powerful is the attorney general?

The Attorney General of the United States – appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate – heads the DOJ with its more than 100,000 attorneys, special agents, and other staff. It represents the United States in federal criminal and civil litigation, and provides legal advice to the President and Cabinet.

Does the attorney general answer to the president?

The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters.

Who appoints the attorney general?

the PresidentAttorney General is appointed by the President on the advice of the government. There are the following qualifications: He should be an Indian Citizen. He must have either completed 5 years in High Court of any Indian state as a judge or 10 years in High Court as an advocate.

How long can the FBI hold you without charging you?

Unlike other states that have 72-hour time limits, the state of California requires that every person arrested receive a charge or be let go within 48 hours of the arrest. A person that is arrested for any reason must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest at the very latest.

What is an attorney vs lawyer?

However, when practising law, lawyers can only provide legal assistance, advice, and counselling to their clients while an attorney can represent clients in court and initiate defendant prosecutions in addition to providing legal counsel and consultation.

Who oversees the US attorney general?

The U.S. Attorney General is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Is the attorney general higher than the President?

The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters, advises the President and the heads of the executive departments of the government, and occasionally appears in person before the Supreme Court.

Can the Attorney General be impeached?

Attorneys General. While impeachment proceedings against cabinet secretaries are an exceedingly rare event, no office has provoked the ire of the House of Representatives more than that of Attorney General. During the first quarter of the 21st century, four Attorneys General have been subjected to the process.

Who was Trump's first Attorney General?

Jeff SessionsSucceeded byDon FosterPersonal detailsBornJefferson Beauregard Sessions III December 24, 1946 Selma, Alabama, U.S.Political partyRepublican33 more rows

What is the difference between chief justice and Attorney General?

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.

What is the role of the attorney general?

[48] The common law functions of the Attorney-General include power to initiate and terminate criminal prosecutions, power to grant immunity from prosecution, advising on the grant of pardons, issuing fiats in relator actions, instituting contempt of court proceedings, appearing as amicus curiae in matters of public ...

Is Attorney General Member of Parliament?

The Attorney General of India can be a member of any Parliamentary Committee. 2. The Attorney General of India can take part in the proceedings of either House of Parliament. 3.To be appointed as the Attorney General of India, a person must be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Who is the Attorney General of India in 2022?

Mukul RohatagiIncumbent He began his service on 30 June 2017. Mukul Rohatagi will be 14th AGI from 30th September 2022. Mukul rohatagi will serve his 2nd tenure.

What act created the Attorney General?

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the position of Attorney General “to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments.”

When was the Attorney General's Office established?

Blake Masters's answer gives you the history of the office of Attorney General. It was established in 1789 and was originally a part time position. The Department of Justice was created much later, in 1870. It made sense to have the existing Attorney General assume the responsibility of heading this department and they decided not to change the title of the officer.

What happens if the President and the AG believe that the DOJ employees are biased?

If the President and the AG believe that the DOJ employees are biased, they can act to correct them. If you believe that the President and AG are biased, you don’t have to vote for them. Under no circumstances do Judges have any authority in the matter.

How many attorneys general are there in the US?

We have 51 attorneys general (correct english), plus a handful in overseas territories. The function of fighting crime is often delegated to the #2 man in the office of attorney general (OAG), in a department called “Criminal Justice”. The attorney general should have a handle on crime and be supervising his subordinates, the county prosecutors (or federal attorney’s general in the case of the United States Attorney General). Of course this is hard work, and they don’t talk much, if at all. With the hard work of fighting crime delegated, the AG can focus on larger issues. One of his tasks, probably delegated, is to issue opinions. As just another cabinet member of the governor, an AG opinion clarifies law. He interprets law for the public good, and he cannot make law or change law. Here’s a great link to the office of the attorney general (it’s the best organizational chart I’ve ever seen):

What do the other members of the Cabinet do?

The other members of the Cabinet work for the President, directly. They are there to carry out his policies or GTFO.

What is a major general?

A major General is a rank that would command a large number of soldiers. More than just a Major, he (or she) is a general officer.

Why is the Department of Justice important?

Because the Department of Justice and its functions are of a very different nature than the other cabinet level Departments. Their job is to implement statutes enacted by Congress and the policies of the President in their areas of responsibility (under the President’s ultimate control and direction. The Secretaries heading these Departments are alter egos for the President.

What is an attorney general?

So, an “attorney general” is understood as “an attorney of the type “general”, at least at the time we started using it. The oddity of that structure is because such titling dates back to at least 1292 (when it first enters the Oxford English Dictionary), borrowed from Anglo-Norman French (this was during the Norman period). Law, remember, even in English borrows heavily from French.

How is an attorney general selected?

At the state level, most attorney generals are selected by popular vote. The attorney general provides advice to the governor and the state legislature. S/he is not directly responsible for criminal prosecutions, although s/he may offer assistance in very high profile cases. The attorney general of the state usually reports to the voters of the state.

What is the primary duty of a US attorney?

The US Attorney;s primary duty is criminal and civil litigation. These are the lawyers who do most of the trials for the U.S. Government.

What does "general" mean in the military?

In this case "general" doesn't mean "military officer" (that would be a Judge Advocate General - the same position in the military - the person who is in charge of a military legal system). It means "comprehensive", like in "General Hospital" - a hospital that treats all kinds of conditions. The "Attorney-General" is the person who is in charge of government administration of the whole legal system.

What language was used in court proceedings?

Prior to the year 1362, all English court proceedings were conducted in French/Latin. Much of the legal vocabulary that exists in English today was imported from French/Latin. And because French and Latin both use noun-adjective word order, the imported phrases follow the same convention.

What are some examples of legal phrases?

Other examples include: court martial; force majeure; malice aforethought; mens rea.

Is "attorney" plural or singular?

There is no reason to pluralize the adjective here. “Attorney” is pluralized because it is the noun.

Keith G Langer

It is odd that the AG's office would be calling, unless it was in response to your contacting it first. If that were the case, it would presumably have the current information, which you provided.

David M Owens

It may be related to employment or business that you did with a company they are investigating that they either want information about, or there was a settlement and they are trying to find you as a result. The AG's office does not prosecute individuals.

Is there a comma in "general"?

So it's a bit like adding a comma: Attorneys, General.

Is a major general a class?

Like a lieutenant general or a brigadier general, a major general is a class of general, so it's general that takes the plural. "The four will be commissioned as Army major generals for an approximate two-year term while serving intermittently in this role.". - Oxford Online.

Is "general" a compound noun?

It's a compound noun where the second word is basically an adjective that describes the preceding noun, or "head.". In this case, "general" describes "attorney.". Ah, the joy of head-first compound nouns. A regular compound noun - "military funeral," for instance - has the head at the end.

Is "major" the same as "general"?

Actually, it's Majors General. It's the same as attorneys general. Both are pluralized nouns (attorneys/majors) with adjectives (major/general).

Is "sergeant major" plural or singular?

One way to see it is that a sergeant-major is a type or grade of sergeant, whereas lieutenant-general is a type of grade of general. The main nouns are sergeant and general respectively, so they take the plural, not the classifying word. Warsaw Will Nov-11-2011. 4 votes Permalink Report Abuse.

Is "agtorney general" a noun?

However - right now 'attorney general' is a noun in and of itself. Therefore attorney generals is fine - and we don't need permission to use it - we can just use it. Of course you can use it. However the unfortunate fact is that common usage does not always mean correct usage.

Is "general" an adjective?

The adjective comes before noun ... brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general ... thus brigadier generals, major generals, lieutenant generals. General is the noun, not the adjective, in the military rank. Whereas in attorney general, it is the adjective. To add to AnWulf ... nor in the British army.

Overview

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen ) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement, prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice, the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to the government varies betwee…

Etymology

Attorneys-general in common law and hybrid jurisdictions

Similar offices in non-common law jurisdictions

See also

External links