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Texas Attorney General

The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer[1] of the U.S. state of Texas. The current officeholder, Republican Ken Paxton, has been elected to the position since January 5, 2015, by general election.

Attorney General of Texas
Incumbent
Ken Paxton
since January 5, 2015
Suspended: May 27 – September 16, 2023
StyleThe Honorable
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Inaugural holderVolney E. Howard
FormationTexas Constitution
Salary$153,750
WebsiteOfficial website

History edit

 
The William P. Clements State Office Building houses some of the Office of the Attorney General.

The Office of the Attorney General was first established by executive ordinance of the Republic of Texas government in 1836. The attorneys general of the Republic of Texas and the first four attorneys general under the 1845 state constitution were appointed by the governor. The office was made elective in 1850 by constitutional amendment.

The attorney general is elected to a four-year term. In 2013, former Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he would not seek reelection and would run for governor. In November 2014, he was elected as the governor of Texas. Ken Paxton defeated former House Representative Dan Branch in the Republican primary by a 26% margin and was elected easily in the general election as the 50th attorney general of Texas,[2] (there is a historical dispute whether he is the 50th or 51st attorney general).[3] Paxton was sworn in on January 5, 2015, in the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol. Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, United States Senator Ted Cruz, and Lieutenant Governor-Elect Dan Patrick all participated in the swearing-in ceremony.[4]

Duties and responsibilities edit

The attorney general is charged by the state constitution to represent the state in civil litigation[1] and approve public bond issues.[5] There are nearly 2,000 references to the Office of the Attorney General in state laws.

The Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the governor, heads of state agencies and other officials and commissions, and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the state. These duties include representing the Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in appeals from criminal convictions in federal courts.

The Texas Constitution gives the attorney general no general law-enforcement powers; instead it limits the attorney general's authority in criminal cases to that dictated by statute.[1] The Texas Legislature has not given the attorney general broad law-enforcement authority, but permits the attorney general to act in criminal cases at the request of prosecutors.[6]

The Office of the Attorney General, Law Enforcement Division[7] conducts criminal investigations and apprehensions including cases involving cyber-crimes such as child pornography, online solicitation of minors, identity theft, election fraud, locating and apprehending convicted sex offenders who have failed to comply with mandated sex offender registration requirements, and conducting digital forensics investigations. The Office of the Attorney General also operates the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which investigates criminal fraud by Medicaid providers, abuse and neglect of patients in health care facilities operated by the Medicaid program, and helps local and federal authorities with prosecutions.

Its child support division is responsible for the establishment and enforcement of child support.[7]

Officeholders edit

Attorneys general by party affiliation
Party Attorneys general
Democratic 44
Republican 4
Unionist 2
Attorneys general in chronological order, showing party affiliation
No. Image Name Term of service Political party
1   Volney Howard 1846 Democratic
2 John W. Harris 1846–1849 Democratic
3 Henry Percy Brewster 1849–1850 Democratic
4   Andrew Jackson Hamilton 1850 Democratic
5 Ebenezer Allen1 1850–1852 Democratic
6 Thomas J. Jennings 1852–1856 Democratic
7   James Willie 1856–1858 Democratic
8 Malcolm D. Graham 1858–1860 Democratic
9 George M. Flournoy 1860–1862 Democratic
10 Nathan G. Shelley 1862–1864 Democratic
11 Benjamin E. Tarver 1864–1865 Democratic
12 William Alexander 1865–1866 Unionist
13   William M. Walton 1866–1867 Democratic
14 Ezekiel B. Turner 1867–1870 Unionist
15 William Alexander 1870–1874 Republican
16 George W. Clark 1874–1876 Democratic
17 Hannibal Boone 1876–1878 Democratic
18 George McCormick 1878–1880 Democratic
19 James H. McLeary 1880–1882 Democratic
20 John D. Templeton 1882–1886 Democratic
21   Jim Hogg 1886–1890 Democratic
22   Charles Allen Culberson 1890–1894 Democratic
23   Martin McNulty Crane 1894–1898 Democratic
24 Thomas Slater Smith 1898–1901 Democratic
25   Charles K. Bell 1901–1904 Democratic
26 Robert V. Davidson 1904–1910 Democratic
27 Jewel P. Lightfoot 1910–1912 Democratic
28 James D. Walthall 1912–1913 Democratic
29   B. F. Looney 1913–1919 Democratic
30 Calvin Maples Cureton 1919–1921 Democratic
31 Walter Angus Keeling 1921–1925 Democratic
32   Dan Moody 1925–1927 Democratic
33 Claude Pollard2 1927–1929 Democratic
34 Robert L. Bobbitt3 1929–1931 Democratic
35   James V. Allred 1931–1935 Democratic
36 William McCraw 1935–1939 Democratic
37   Gerald Mann 1939–1943 Democratic
38 Grover Sellers 1943–1947 Democratic
39   Price Daniel 1947–1953 Democratic
40 John Ben Shepperd 1953–1957 Democratic
41   Will Wilson 1957–1963 Democratic
42   Waggoner Carr 1963–1967 Democratic
43 Crawford Martin 1967–1972 Democratic
44 John Hill 1973–1979 Democratic
45   Mark White 1979–1983 Democratic
46   Jim Mattox 1983–1991 Democratic
47 Dan Morales 1991–1999 Democratic
48   John Cornyn 1999–2002 Republican
49   Greg Abbott 2002–2015 Republican
50   Ken Paxton 2015–present
Suspended May 27, 2023 – September 16, 2023
Republican
Brent Webster
Interim
May 27, 2023 – May 31, 2023
Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton
Republican
John Scott
Interim
May 31, 2023 – July 14, 2023
Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton
Republican
Angela Colmenero
Interim
July 14, 2023 – September 16, 2023
Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton
Republican

Political prominence edit

Many leading political figures in Texas history have served as attorney general, several of them using the office as a jumping-off place to other offices in the state and national government. Attorneys general James S. Hogg, Charles A. Culberson, Dan Moody, James V. Allred, Price Daniel, Mark White, and Greg Abbott were elected governor. Culberson, Daniel, and John Cornyn were later elected to the United States Senate.[8]

Notes edit

  1. First elected attorney general (AG) of state of Texas; previously elected AG of the Republic of Texas
  2. Resigned
  3. Appointed

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Texas Constitution Article 4 Section 22.
  2. ^ Texas attorney general election, 2014, Ballotpedia.
  3. ^ Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (May 27, 2014). . The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014.
  4. ^ Barnett, Marissa (January 2015). "Ken Paxton vows to continue Abbott's federal fights as attorney general". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  5. ^ Texas Constitution Article 3 Section 49.
  6. ^ Texas Government Code section 402.028.
  7. ^ a b "All Divisions | Office of the Attorney General".
  8. ^ Attorney General from the Handbook of Texas Online

External links edit

  • Texas Attorney General official website
  • Texas Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
  • News and Commentary at FindLaw
  • U.S. Supreme Court Opinions – "Cases with title containing: State of Texas" at FindLaw
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Texas Attorney General Opinions, hosted by the Portal to Texas History

texas, attorney, general, texas, attorney, general, chief, legal, officer, state, texas, current, officeholder, republican, paxton, been, elected, position, since, january, 2015, general, election, attorney, general, texasincumbentken, paxtonsince, january, 20. The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer 1 of the U S state of Texas The current officeholder Republican Ken Paxton has been elected to the position since January 5 2015 by general election Attorney General of TexasIncumbentKen Paxtonsince January 5 2015Suspended May 27 September 16 2023StyleThe HonorableTerm lengthFour years no term limitsInaugural holderVolney E HowardFormationTexas ConstitutionSalary 153 750WebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 History 2 Duties and responsibilities 3 Officeholders 4 Political prominence 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksHistory edit nbsp The William P Clements State Office Building houses some of the Office of the Attorney General The Office of the Attorney General was first established by executive ordinance of the Republic of Texas government in 1836 The attorneys general of the Republic of Texas and the first four attorneys general under the 1845 state constitution were appointed by the governor The office was made elective in 1850 by constitutional amendment The attorney general is elected to a four year term In 2013 former Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he would not seek reelection and would run for governor In November 2014 he was elected as the governor of Texas Ken Paxton defeated former House Representative Dan Branch in the Republican primary by a 26 margin and was elected easily in the general election as the 50th attorney general of Texas 2 there is a historical dispute whether he is the 50th or 51st attorney general 3 Paxton was sworn in on January 5 2015 in the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol Governor Rick Perry Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst United States Senator Ted Cruz and Lieutenant Governor Elect Dan Patrick all participated in the swearing in ceremony 4 Duties and responsibilities editThe attorney general is charged by the state constitution to represent the state in civil litigation 1 and approve public bond issues 5 There are nearly 2 000 references to the Office of the Attorney General in state laws The Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government issues legal opinions when requested by the governor heads of state agencies and other officials and commissions and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the state These duties include representing the Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in appeals from criminal convictions in federal courts The Texas Constitution gives the attorney general no general law enforcement powers instead it limits the attorney general s authority in criminal cases to that dictated by statute 1 The Texas Legislature has not given the attorney general broad law enforcement authority but permits the attorney general to act in criminal cases at the request of prosecutors 6 The Office of the Attorney General Law Enforcement Division 7 conducts criminal investigations and apprehensions including cases involving cyber crimes such as child pornography online solicitation of minors identity theft election fraud locating and apprehending convicted sex offenders who have failed to comply with mandated sex offender registration requirements and conducting digital forensics investigations The Office of the Attorney General also operates the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit which investigates criminal fraud by Medicaid providers abuse and neglect of patients in health care facilities operated by the Medicaid program and helps local and federal authorities with prosecutions Its child support division is responsible for the establishment and enforcement of child support 7 Officeholders editAttorneys general by party affiliation Party Attorneys general Democratic 44 Republican 4 Unionist 2 Attorneys general in chronological order showing party affiliation No Image Name Term of service Political party 1 nbsp Volney Howard 1846 Democratic 2 John W Harris 1846 1849 Democratic 3 Henry Percy Brewster 1849 1850 Democratic 4 nbsp Andrew Jackson Hamilton 1850 Democratic 5 Ebenezer Allen1 1850 1852 Democratic 6 Thomas J Jennings 1852 1856 Democratic 7 nbsp James Willie 1856 1858 Democratic 8 Malcolm D Graham 1858 1860 Democratic 9 George M Flournoy 1860 1862 Democratic 10 Nathan G Shelley 1862 1864 Democratic 11 Benjamin E Tarver 1864 1865 Democratic 12 William Alexander 1865 1866 Unionist 13 nbsp William M Walton 1866 1867 Democratic 14 Ezekiel B Turner 1867 1870 Unionist 15 William Alexander 1870 1874 Republican 16 George W Clark 1874 1876 Democratic 17 Hannibal Boone 1876 1878 Democratic 18 George McCormick 1878 1880 Democratic 19 James H McLeary 1880 1882 Democratic 20 John D Templeton 1882 1886 Democratic 21 nbsp Jim Hogg 1886 1890 Democratic 22 nbsp Charles Allen Culberson 1890 1894 Democratic 23 nbsp Martin McNulty Crane 1894 1898 Democratic 24 Thomas Slater Smith 1898 1901 Democratic 25 nbsp Charles K Bell 1901 1904 Democratic 26 Robert V Davidson 1904 1910 Democratic 27 Jewel P Lightfoot 1910 1912 Democratic 28 James D Walthall 1912 1913 Democratic 29 nbsp B F Looney 1913 1919 Democratic 30 Calvin Maples Cureton 1919 1921 Democratic 31 Walter Angus Keeling 1921 1925 Democratic 32 nbsp Dan Moody 1925 1927 Democratic 33 Claude Pollard2 1927 1929 Democratic 34 Robert L Bobbitt3 1929 1931 Democratic 35 nbsp James V Allred 1931 1935 Democratic 36 William McCraw 1935 1939 Democratic 37 nbsp Gerald Mann 1939 1943 Democratic 38 Grover Sellers 1943 1947 Democratic 39 nbsp Price Daniel 1947 1953 Democratic 40 John Ben Shepperd 1953 1957 Democratic 41 nbsp Will Wilson 1957 1963 Democratic 42 nbsp Waggoner Carr 1963 1967 Democratic 43 Crawford Martin 1967 1972 Democratic 44 John Hill 1973 1979 Democratic 45 nbsp Mark White 1979 1983 Democratic 46 nbsp Jim Mattox 1983 1991 Democratic 47 Dan Morales 1991 1999 Democratic 48 nbsp John Cornyn 1999 2002 Republican 49 nbsp Greg Abbott 2002 2015 Republican 50 nbsp Ken Paxton 2015 presentSuspended May 27 2023 September 16 2023 Republican Brent WebsterInterim May 27 2023 May 31 2023Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton Republican John ScottInterim May 31 2023 July 14 2023Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton Republican Angela ColmeneroInterim July 14 2023 September 16 2023Served during the suspension of Ken Paxton RepublicanPolitical prominence editMany leading political figures in Texas history have served as attorney general several of them using the office as a jumping off place to other offices in the state and national government Attorneys general James S Hogg Charles A Culberson Dan Moody James V Allred Price Daniel Mark White and Greg Abbott were elected governor Culberson Daniel and John Cornyn were later elected to the United States Senate 8 Notes editFirst elected attorney general AG of state of Texas previously elected AG of the Republic of Texas Resigned AppointedReferences edit a b c Texas Constitution Article 4 Section 22 Texas attorney general election 2014 Ballotpedia Jeffers Gromer Jr May 27 2014 Dan Branch concedes Republican attorney general s race to Ken Paxton The Dallas Morning News Archived from the original on September 7 2014 Barnett Marissa January 2015 Ken Paxton vows to continue Abbott s federal fights as attorney general The Dallas Morning News Retrieved October 8 2017 Texas Constitution Article 3 Section 49 Texas Government Code section 402 028 a b All Divisions Office of the Attorney General Attorney General from the Handbook of Texas OnlineExternal links editTexas Attorney General official website Texas Attorney General articles at ABA Journal News and Commentary at FindLaw U S Supreme Court Opinions Cases with title containing State of Texas at FindLaw State Bar of Texas Texas Attorney General Opinions hosted by the Portal to Texas History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Texas Attorney General amp oldid 1213740830, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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