State Attorney General
Definition of State Attorney General
Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the State Attorney General legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia
The chief legal officer of state government. The state attorney general serves as legal counsel to the state governor and state agencies. The state attorney general represents the state in legal proceedings when the state is a party to a legal action. State attorneys general may be asked to issue formal opinions on questions of state law. This function is quasi-judicial in character and these opinions have the force of law. They remain in effect until such time as they may be reversed or modified by a court. Attorneys general are elected in forty-three states and appointed by the governor in the remaining seven. The attorney general has modest law enforcement authority. While most states allow the attorney general to initiate criminal actions on motion, the prosecutorial functions in most states are assigned to prosecuting attorneys elected at the county level. Only in Alaska, Delaware, and Rhode Island do state attorneys general have supervisory or coordinating power over criminal prosecutions. Also functioning at the local level are corporation counsel who act as counsel for cities, villages, or townships on noncriminal matters. Larger local units may be able to support a staff position(s) for this function. Smaller units may simply retain a local attorney or law firm to serve as corporation counsel when necessary.
See Also
Attorney General of the United States (Law of the United States) (Law of the United States) Prosecuting Attorney (Law of the United States).
Resources
State Attorney General Related Resources
- State Attorney General in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Personnel Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Personnel Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary
Notes
- “State Attorney General”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
Leave a Reply