The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general of Delaware.

Description of the office

The attorney general elected to a four-year term in the "off-year" state election, two years before/after the election of the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. Along with the state treasurer, state auditor, and state insurance commissioner, the office is intended to serve as a restraint to the governor's exclusive executive authority. The office existed in various forms prior to the ratification of the

Delaware Constitution of 1776 The Delaware Constitution of 1776 was the first governing document for Delaware state government and was in effect from its adoption in September 1776 until its replacement by the 1792 constitution. Background On June 15, 1776, at the urging of P ...

, which continued the existing colonial tradition of granting the governor the power to appoint the attorney general for a five-year tenure. With the ratification of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, the post was converted to its present four-year elected form, also establishing the attorney general as third in line of succession to the office of governor, after the

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and secretary of state.

Officeholders

Gunning Bedford Jr. was the first holder of the office after American independence. The office was held from 2007-2015 by Beau Biden, who was elected in 2006 and took office on January 2, 2007. He was a Democrat and the eldest son of the current

U.S. President 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 States ...

and the longest serving U.S. Senator from Delaware Joe Biden. The current interim is Dennis Greenhouse.

Sources

References

* *

External links

Delaware Attorney General
official website
Delaware 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. ...

Delaware Code
at Law.Justia.com
U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Delaware"
at

Delaware State Bar Association

Delaware Attorney General Matthew Denn 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 State of Delaware news (news.delaware.gov) {{Delaware statewide elected officials

Description of the office

Officeholders

See also

Sources

References

External links