An attorney general serves as the top law enforcement officer of a state government, prosecuting crimes and representing it in lawsuits brought by third parties. They may also provide formal legal opinions to state officials or lawmakers upon their request.
Early attorneys general were limited in office space and hired clerks with minimal salaries, making for tenuous relationships between Congress and their office space.
Legal Advice
The Attorney General provides legal advice and representation to the executive branch of state government on issues of statewide concern, providing guidance to Governor, executive agencies, boards and commissions, higher educational institutions as well as personnel issues like personnel contracts purchasing regulatory real estate real estate real estate legal and other regulatory real estate legal statutory matters such as personnel contract purchasing regulatory real estate real estate legal issues statutory issues concerning personnel contract purchasing purchasing regulatory real estate issues statutory matters legal matters such as personnel contract purchasing regulatory real estate real estate issues legal real estate litigation real estate as well as criminal prosecution cases including child pornographic content production by companies as well as prosecuting criminal matters like child pornographic material production by companies as well as cases like child pornographic distribution by companies using legal channels like companies who knowingly theft of state property as violations of environmental laws against various state agencies and/complexity.
On request from public officials, this office provides formal numbered legal opinions as well as informal unnumbered legal opinions to serve as persuasive legal authority; these legal opinions do not bind courts of law and must state clearly and concisely what law needs to be answered. Requestors should include their counsel’s opinion as well as copies of relevant constitutional provisions, statutes, charters administrative rules judicial decisions Attorney General Opinions or any other materials which will help provide a complete response.
The Office cannot offer legal advice directly to individual private citizens regarding lawsuits or disputes; however, law schools, bar associations, and nonprofit organizations in the state provide free legal assistance and representation for residents who cannot afford an attorney. In addition, this office oversees two other entities that receive grant funds from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 1) Office of Highway Traffic Safety 2) Victims of Crime Compensation Office.
Appeals
As chief legal officer for Missouri, the attorney general holds the power to prosecute or defend all appeals brought by or on behalf of the state, such as all criminal appeals going up to the Missouri Supreme Court or courts of appeals. Furthermore, they can initiate quo warranto proceedings to stop corporations doing business in Missouri and appear for them in declaratory judgment proceedings to ascertain if laws are constitutional.
Civil cases typically require the appellant (the party appealing the decision) to present evidence before a panel of judges that there have been legal errors committed by either a trial court judge or government official in making their original ruling in the original case. They must submit written arguments – known as briefs – which convince judges of significant misdeeds by trial judges that should be corrected, while responding parties (appellee and appellant ) present counterarguments to these briefs and present additional arguments on both sides.
Attorneys from the Attorney General’s office often handle cases dealing with human rights, social justice and environmental concerns. Eric Schneiderman of New York has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and his policies, filing lawsuits alleging violations to First Amendment laws as well as protecting state resources while going after predatory landlords and employers who violate workplace protections.
Attorneys from the Attorney General’s Office are also available to answer questions from citizens and businesses regarding legal matters they handle, or more general inquiries about law. When requested by state officers, employees, county or district attorneys, this office’s staff offers formal legal opinions.
Criminal Prosecution
Attorneys General are public servants who serve the public interest by upholding laws designed to safeguard consumers, tenants, patients, workers, investors, charitable donors, and the environment. Their duties may include reviewing legislation passed by state legislatures; prosecuting Medicaid fraud; investigating crimes committed by state employees and monitoring residential juvenile facilities. Furthermore, Attorneys General coordinate statewide criminal and civil investigations as well as promote economic justice and encourage harm-reducing strategies.
Before making a decision about prosecuting an alleged offender, an attorney for the government must assess their potential jurisdictional interest in prosecuting. When doing this, they must consider several factors:
Nature and Scope of Criminal Conduct. When filing charges on behalf of the government, attorneys for the government should ensure their proposed charges accurately detail both the nature and scope of alleged criminal conduct in order to provide notice to the public of its seriousness and ensure sufficient time for defendant’s counsel to respond in court.
Consideration of Offender Liability. An attorney representing the government should remain mindful of any risk that conduct at issue will recur, whether by itself or through others, and should take measures to prevent an individual or group from developing an acceptable pattern of such behavior. This may involve employing strong deterrents such as imprisonment as an effective deterrent against future offending.
Strength of Public Interest in Prosecution. When prosecuting an alleged offender, an attorney for the government must assess their public interest when prosecuting; including public perception of its importance and impact on communities as a whole as well as how previous enforcement actions from previous offices or entities has effected these interests.
Although these principles provide guidance for decision-making processes of federal prosecutors, their purpose should not be used as an excuse for rigid uniformity across federal prosecution across the nation at the expense of sound law enforcement policies that fit local conditions. Each United States Attorney and Assistant Attorney General overseeing prosecuting components may make exceptions from this framework when necessary for fair and effective prosecution.
Litigation
As chief legal officers for their states, commonwealths, territories and the District of Columbia, attorneys general serve as legal officers of their states’ agencies and legislatures while taking on important civil cases to enforce state laws and represent public interests. As part of the National Association of Attorneys General’s biweekly podcast series The People’s Lawyer, attorneys general tackle an array of topics in their roles as chief law enforcement officials – consumer protection issues; civil rights; antitrust; criminal justice issues; protecting vulnerable populations – with expert insight provided from attorneys general themselves!
Litigation is one of the highest profile and most visible duties for an attorney general, often garnering media coverage and political career opportunities for them. Eric Schneiderman of New York Attorney General used his office to go after predatory landlords and financial firms; file initial suit against Trump University (using “The Art of the Deal” against Trump); take on banks and mortgage companies in settlement agreements to help homeowners during housing crises; etc.
An attorney general plays an essential role in protecting state residents against federal overreach, from challenging presidential orders to fighting back on behalf of state residents’ rights. Texas AG Ken Paxton, for instance, has successfully battled against federal government actions to defend state residents – winning injunctions or rulings in over 75% of his cases that reached the U.S. Supreme Court!
Attorneys general can utilize their offices to further public service goals through pro bono programs they oversee, such as volunteer legal services providers or creating their own. Missouri AG Josh Hawley oversees both programs; in his state alone he runs both State Bar Association’s volunteer legal assistance program as well as State Athletic Control Board which regulates professional boxing exhibitions.