State Attorneys General
State attorney general - Wikipedia
The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer.
In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice.
Selection
The most prevalent method of selecting a state's attorney general is by popular election.
43 states have an elected attorney general.[1]
Elected attorneys general serve a four-year term, except in Vermont, where the term is two years.[2]
Seven states do not popularly elect an attorney general.
In Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wyoming, the attorney general is a gubernatorial appointee.[1]
The attorney general in Tennessee is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term.[1][2]
In Maine, the attorney general is elected by the state Legislature for a two-year term.[1][2]
The District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, elect their attorneys general for a four-year term.
2014 marked the first year that the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands held an election for the office.
In American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the attorney general is appointed by the governor.[3]
In Puerto Rico, the attorney general is officially called the secretary of justice, but is commonly known as the Puerto Rico attorney general.[4]
Many states have passed term limits limiting the selection to 2 consecutive terms (9 states); 2 terms maximum (4 states), but 33 states still have no term limits.[5]
Defense of the state in federal lawsuit
State attorneys general enforce both state and federal laws. Because they are sworn to uphold the United States' constitution and laws as well as the state's, they often decline to defend the state in federal lawsuits.[6]
Current attorneys general
The current party composition of the state attorneys general is:
- 23 Democrats
- 27 Republicans
The composition for the District of Columbia and the 5 populated territories is:
Rows of the attorney general table below are color coded indicating the political party of the office holder.
Every state has an attorney general, who is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer, analogous to the United States Attorney General.
43 of the states directly elect their attorney general, while the others are selected by the governor, legislature, or state supreme court.[4]
Attorneys general often have wide discretion in what cases to prosecute and how to settle cases.[5]
State attorneys general can often make an impact even beyond their state, taking part in major challenges to federal laws and prosecuting major national companies.[6][7] I
n many states, the attorney general is arguably the second most powerful constitutional officer, after the governor.[5][6][8]