The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the principal law enforcement official of the federal government. The Attorney General acts as the principal legal advisor to the President of the United States on all legal matters. The Judicial Act of 1789 created the Office of the Attorney General, which evolved over the years to become the head of the Department of Justice and the Federal Government's chief law enforcement officer. The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters in general and, upon request, advises and issues opinions to the President and the heads of the executive departments of the Government.
In matters of exceptional gravity or importance, the Attorney General appears in person before the Supreme Court. Since the Act of 1870 that established the Department of Justice as an executive department of the United States government, the Attorney General has directed the world's largest legal office and central body for the enforcement of federal laws. Initially, the position of Attorney General was created as a one-person part-time position. However, the workload quickly became excessive for a single person.
For a time, private attorneys were hired to assist the Attorney General. The United States Attorney General (USSG or SG) is the fourth highest ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. The attorney general is appointed by the president and reports directly to the United States Attorney General. Find your attorney general, the chief legal officer in your state or territory.
Letitia James is the 67th Attorney General of the State of New York. Letitia is New York State's lead attorney and law enforcement officer. As legal director of the states, federal states, the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States, the role of the attorney general is to serve as an advisor to state government agencies and legislatures, and as a representative of the public interest. Several attorneys general and the governors who appointed them defined the functions of the Office in different and contradictory ways.
The office of Attorney General was created in 1643, before the arrival of English common law, as an office within the government of the area known as New Sweden. When deciding whether to grant a certificate in a case to which the federal government is not a party, the Court sometimes requests the intervention of the attorney general, a procedure known as a request for an opinion from the attorney general (CVSG). This division also deals with criminal cases referred to the Attorney General's Office by Pennsylvania's 67 district attorneys or other government agencies. If the government prevailed in the lower court, but the attorney general disagrees with the outcome, the attorney general can confess his mistake, after which the Supreme Court will overturn the lower court's ruling and return the case for reconsideration.
The Attorney General's Office offers multiple ways to keep Texans informed about how their government works.
