In most jurisdictions, the attorney general is the main legal advisor to the government. He or she advises on law enforcement and prosecutions, and in some cases has executive responsibility for the administration of legal affairs.
As the “people’s lawyer,” they represent their state legislature and agencies, often acting as the public’s first line of defense against wrongdoing. They are also responsible for combating consumer fraud, environmental violations, public corruption, and civil rights laws.
Who Is the Attorney General?
Attorneys general are the chief legal officers of their state or territory and are the top counselors to state government agencies and legislatures. They advise and represent the public interest, act as the “people’s lawyer,” and defend the rights of the citizens. Most are elected and most act independently of their governor.
The Office of the Attorney General has been in existence in some form since 1626 under the Dutch colonial government of New Netherland. The department’s mission is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and state laws, to provide legal services for federal and state governments and to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the country.
Today, the responsibilities and powers of the office have been greatly expanded. The attorney general represents the state of New York in litigation before federal courts, serves as a liaison to local governments and agencies, and is responsible for the prosecution of criminal violations of state law.
As New York’s attorney general, Letitia James has focused on protecting vulnerable New Yorkers and ensuring that individuals or companies that break state laws are held accountable. She has secured more than $7.5 billion for New York from those who broke state laws, including more than $2.5 billion from opioid manufacturers and distributors.
She has also worked to remove thousands of guns from New York communities and take down dozens of dangerous drug and gun trafficking rings across the state. She has led the fight against the proliferation of ghost guns, which pose a significant threat to law enforcement and the public.
The Attorney General’s office is committed to a strong, effective and fair criminal justice system that respects the rights of all Americans. Our office focuses on strengthening trust between law enforcement and the community, prosecuting violent crimes that harm children, and advancing smart-on-crime criminal justice reforms.
We also work to strengthen civil rights, protect the economy and ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable healthcare. We fight against discrimination in all its forms and stand up for women’s reproductive health care and equal rights for transgender students and adults.
What Are the Duties of the Attorney General?
The Attorney General is the state’s chief legal officer and serves as a counselor to government agencies and legislatures. He or she protects the people of the state and works with legislators to ensure that they follow the law.
The attorney general’s responsibilities are many and varied, and can include anything from consumer protection to antitrust enforcement to criminal justice. They also often work to protect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and the homeless, from harm.
Some of the attorney general’s duties are listed in state laws, while others are vested in their common law powers. In addition to the statutory duties, some states allow the attorney general to hire and manage outside counsel.
In Texas, the attorney general is a statewide elected official who acts on behalf of the state in matters that are important to the citizens of the state. He or she is charged with the statutory and common law powers to protect the public health and safety, to promote economic growth and fair competition, and to combat fraud and corruption.
He or she is a legal adviser to the Governor and the Legislature, attending government meetings where constitutional or legal questions arise. He or she also represents the government in legal proceedings, and may appoint deputy and assistant attorneys general.
The office of the attorney general is responsible for protecting the state from fraud, enforcing antitrust laws and representing consumers in Medicaid fraud cases. It also helps prosecute crimes in more than one county, such as organized crime and white collar crime.
Besides these duties, the attorney general’s office is a counselor to other agencies and entities within the state, including prosecutors, judges, and county attorneys. It also represents the governor in cases involving state lands, investments and financial regulations.
As the state’s chief legal officer, the attorney general serves as a guardian of the rights of the citizens of the state and is the “People’s Lawyer.” He or she protects the citizens of New York and its organizations from wrongdoing and holds polluters accountable. He or she also defends the right to vote, protects women’s access to contraception, and fights for a more sustainable environment.
What Are the Duties of the Solicitor General?
Attorneys general often take on the role of “gatekeeper” for issues that are important to the United States, but which do not involve the government as a party. They do this by preparing and filing briefs on behalf of the federal government as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the Supreme Court.
This is an extremely important function because it helps to coordinate the government’s litigation, so that it does not lose cases of little significance and to ensure consistency in the legal positions that the government takes before various appellate courts. It also serves to minimize the number of conflicts of interest between the government and private parties, which can arise in cases involving private litigants.
The solicitor general also serves as the government’s chief advocate, defending its rights in all cases decided by state and federal courts. He is responsible for deciding whether the government will appeal its case to the appellate courts, and for ensuring that the legal arguments in such cases are strong.
Another very important part of the solicitor general’s duties is to defend and challenge laws passed by Congress that are deemed unconstitutional. This is the basis for many of the cases that the solicitor general brings before the Supreme Court.
These cases are referred to as petitions for certiorari. When a judge decides in favor of the plaintiff, the solicitor general recommends that the case be brought before the Supreme Court for a second look. This process is called rehearing and, as Amy notes, it “goes up.”
In addition to these basic functions, the solicitor general has to deal with a wide range of responsibilities from within the government. For example, he is often charged with determining how to resolve differences between the Justice Department and other departments within the government.
This is a tricky part of the job because there are so many different agencies that make up the government. It’s difficult to know who the best person to speak for each agency is, and it can be especially difficult when those agencies have differing views on how to handle particular issues.
What Are the Duties of the Solicitor General’s Office?
In addition to representing the United States in the Supreme Court, the solicitor general also has a number of other responsibilities. These include:
One of the most important is deciding when the government will file petitions for review–a writ of certiorari–to the Supreme Court (usually in a small number of cases). In these petitions the solicitor general explains to the Court why he believes that the case should be heard on the merits rather than as a deference to lower courts’ decisions, and presents his own arguments in briefs filed by the government.
These arguments are important to the Supreme Court, because they assist it in developing new statutory and constitutional law. The solicitor general and his staff have extensive experience in this field, and they have developed a wide range of positions on which to argue.
Another key responsibility of the solicitor general is to review all cases decided adversely to the government in lower courts. This function helps to minimize the number of cases taken to the appellate courts, and it helps to avoid inconsistent positions being presented before different appellate courts.
Lastly, the solicitor general determines whether the government will participate as amicus curiae–an advocate of the court–in a case before any of the appellate courts. This is an important function, since the courts of appeals are overcrowded and a hearing before the whole court can pose serious logistical problems.
The solicitor general also reviews all cases in which the government loses, determining whether to appeal them and what position to take on appeal. Depending on the situation, the solicitor general will either argue the case personally or assign it to one of the office attorneys.
The solicitor general’s office is staffed with two deputy solicitor generals, seventeen assistant solicitor generals and a highly dedicated professional support staff. These attorneys are responsible for handling all appeals deemed most significant to the interests of the state and for the development of federal and state jurisprudence. They also prepare the petitions, briefs and other papers filed by the government in the Supreme Court.
