The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General

Kathleen Kane Kathleen Granahan Kane (born Kathleen Margaret Granahan; June 14, 1966) is an American former politician and lawyer who served as the 48th Attorney General of Pennsylvania from 2013 until her resignation in 2016 following her conviction for per ...

was convicted of criminal charges, including conspiracy, perjury, and obstruction of justice, and announced her resignation the following day, effective August 17. Consequently, as the Solicitor General,

Bruce Castor Bruce Lee Castor Jr. (born October 24, 1961) is an American lawyer and retired Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was appointed as the first Solicitor General of Pennsylvania in March ...

assumed the office as Acting Attorney General. Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in the 2014 guber ...

nominated

Bruce Beemer Bruce Beemer (born December 14, 1968) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. He served as the 49th Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Attorney General, Attorney General from 2016 to 2017 and a ...

to serve out the remaining balance of Kane's term which expired in January 2017. Democrat

succeeded Beemer. Following Shapiro's 2022 election as Governor, he will appoint his successor as Attorney General.

Authority and responsibilities

The Commonwealth Attorneys Act of 1980 established the Office of Attorney General as an independent office headed by an elected attorney general. The office has the responsibility for the prosecution of those crimes prosecuted by the commonwealth, including organized crime and public corruption, as well as civil

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

on behalf of some, but not all, commonwealth agencies and the civil enforcement of some commonwealth laws, including laws pertaining to consumer protection and charities. The attorney general represents the commonwealth in all actions brought by or against the commonwealth and reviews all proposed rules and regulations by commonwealth agencies. The attorney general also serves as a member of the Board of Pardons, the joint Committee on Documents, the Hazardous Substances Transportation Board, the Board of Finance and Revenue, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Civil Disorder Commission and the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission.

List of attorneys general

There have been four styles of selection of Pennsylvania Attorney General. The first phase was colonial, with the first attorney general commissioned in 1683. At the outbreak of the Revolution, the sitting attorney general, a loyalist, fled, and new attorneys general were appointed, under the Constitution of 1776, by the state president (or vice-president) with the Supreme Executive Council. Under the new constitution of 1790, attorneys general were appointed by the governor, subject to approval by the legislature (similar to how the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

is appointed by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

). This remained in the Constitutions of 1838, 1874, and 1968. In 1978, voters approved an amendment to the

Pennsylvania Constitution The Constitution of Pennsylvania is the supreme law within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All acts of the General Assembly, the governor, and each governmental agency are subordinate to it. Since 1776, Pennsylvania's Constitution has undergone ...

making the office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General an elected position, effective as of the general election of 1980. Note that before

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, there were attorneys general for

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

as early as 1643.

Colonial attorneys general

Under the influence of David Lloyd, who served 1686–1710, Pennsylvania developed its first judicial system. Andrew Hamilton, who served 1717–1726, strongly influenced Pennsylvania law away from some aspects of the British system. * John White * Samuel Hersent * John White * David Lloyd * John Moore * Robert Assheton * Paromlus Parmyter * George Lowther * Thomas Clarke *

Robert Quarry Robert Walter Quarry (November 3, 1925 – February 20, 2009) was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles. Life and career Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable (née Shoemaker) and Paul Quarry ...

* Henry Wilson * Andrew Hamilton * Joseph Growden Jr. * John Kinsey * Tench Francis Sr. *

Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew (November 19, 1722 – January 20, 1810) was a fifth-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, slaveowner, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Com ...

* Andrew Allen

President/Council appointed attorneys general

Attorneys general appointed between 1791 and 1920

Attorneys general appointed between 1920 and 1980

Occupants of the elected Pennsylvania Attorney General office (1981–present)

References

External links

Pennsylvania Attorney General
official website
Pennsylvania Attorney General
articles at ''ABA Journal''

at

FindLaw FindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters that provides online legal information and online marketing services for law firms. FindLaw was created by Stacy Stern, Martin Roscheisen, and Tim Stanley in 1995, and was acquired by Thomson West in 2001. ...

* ttp://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/ Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutesat Law.Justia.com
U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Pennsylvania"
at

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane profile
at

National Association of Attorneys General The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of state and territory attorneys general in the United States. NAAG is governed by member attorneys general, with a president and executive committee se ...

Press releases
at Pennsylvania Attorney General {{Authority control Lists of Pennsylvania politicians 1777 establishments in Pennsylvania