Attorney General in the United States

The cabinet member who heads the Department of Justice. The Attorney General of the United States (Judicial Personnel issue) is the chief law officer at the federal level. The attorney general acts as the principal legal counsel to the president and is responsible for representing the United States in all legal matters. The attorney general has a number of critical executive functions. All federal criminal prosecutions are initiated by the Justice Department through United States Attorneys. The priority assigned to enforcement of particular laws is a judgment of the attorney general. The Justice Department also supervises the federal prison system and the parole of federal prisoners. Also falling under the control of the attorney general are the two principal police agencies at the federal level, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The attorney general also possesses substantial discretion in such policy areas as civil rights, immigration, and internal security. Formal opinions by the attorney general on federal questions govern agencies but can be challenged in court.

Analysis and Relevance

The position of attorney general is one of the most powerful in the federal government. The attorney general is a political appointee of the president and is typically a trusted political ally. As head of the Justice Department, the attorney general is in a position to implement a president’s program in the politically sensitive area of law enforcement. If, for example, a presidential administration wishes to intensify the war against drug trafficking, the attorney general can make enforcement changes through the DEA and U.S. attorneys. In other words, the Justice Department is the medium through which federal law enforcement policy is executed. The role of the federal government in law enforcement has grown substantially in the 1980s, and the influence of the attorney general has expanded accordingly. Finally, the attorney general plays a key role in federal judicial selection. As part of the presidential administration, the attorney general is personally responsible for identifying appropriate Supreme Court nominees for a president. A deputy is generally assigned responsibility for identification of prospective nominees for the lower federal courts, but the attorney general participates in defining the general characteristics of any candidate. It was, for example, at the direction of first William French Smith and later Edwin Meese that President Ronald Reagan was able to ideologically reshape the lower federal Judiciary (U.S.) during his two terms as president.

Attorney General Definition

A member of the president’s cabinet. His duties are to prosecute and conduct all suits in the supreme court in which the United States shall be concerned, and give his advice upon questions of law when required by the president, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments, touching matters that may concern their departments. Act Sept. 24, 1789.

Origins in the English Law

In English Law it was a great officer, under the king, made by letters patent, whose office was to exhibit informations, and prosecute for the English crown in matters criminal; to file bills in the English exchequer in any matter concerning the king’s revenue. Others might bring bills against the kings’ attorney (see 3 Sharswood, Bl. Comm. 27; Termes de la Ley.) In American Law the attorney general, or similar officer, appears for the people, as in England he appears for the crown.

Attorney General in the U.S.

“In the U.S. the post was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The attorney general, who is appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate, is a member of the cabinet. Among the duties of the office are the administration of the Department of Justice, the examination of titles of property acquired by the U.S. for public purposes, the presentation of cases in the courts on behalf of the government, the prosecution of criminal cases involving the government, the direction of the system of federal penitentiaries, and the supervision of special matters involving national defense. The attorney general also provides legal advice to the president and the heads of executive departments. These opinions are not confidential; rather, they are published and provide precedents and guidelines for future action. Serving under the attorney general is the solicitor general, who represents the government in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Each of the states has an official with duties similar to those of the U.S. attorney general. In some, the state official is appointed by the governor and in others the official is popularly elected.” (1)

Presidential Memoranda

Presidential Memoranda in relation with Transfer of Detainee to Control of the Attorney General (February 27, 2009):

“Based on the information available to me, including the memorandum from the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General dated February 26, 2009, and the joint recommendation contained therein, I hereby determine that it is in the interest of the United States that Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri be released from detention by the Secretary of Defense and transferred to the control of the Attorney General for the purpose of criminal proceedings against him.
Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby direct you to transfer Mr. al-Marri to the control of the Attorney General upon the Attorney General’s request.

This memorandum supersedes the Presidential directive of June 23, 2003, to the Secretary of Defense, which ordered the detention of Mr. al-Marri as an enemy combatant. Upon Mr. al-Marri’s transfer to the control of the Attorney General, the authority to detain Mr. al-Marri provided to the Secretary of Defense in the June 23, 2003, order shall cease.”

Attorney General in Other Legal Encyclopedias

Link	Description
Attorney General	Attorney General in the World Legal Encyclopedia.
Attorney General	Attorney General in the European Legal Encyclopedia.
Attorney General	Attorney General in the Asian Legal Encyclopedia.
Attorney General	Attorney General in the UK Legal Encyclopedia.
Attorney General	Attorney General in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia.

Explore other Reference Works

Resource	Description
Attorney General in the Dictionaries	Attorney General in our legal dictionaries
http://lawi.us/attorney-general	The URI of Attorney General (more about URIs)

Notice

This explanation about the origins of Attorney General is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary .

Concept of Attorney General

In the U.S., in the context of State Government and/or Local Government, Attorney General has the following meaning: The top lawyer for state government, responsible for law enforcement and defending the state in court. Most states elect their attorney general. (Source of this definition of Attorney General : University of Texas)