The Oregon Attorney General is a

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

office within the executive branch of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is chosen by statewide partisan

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to serve a term of four years. The incumbent,

Ellen Rosenblum Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Oregon Attorney General since 2012. She is the first female state attorney general in Oregon's history, and previously was a judge on the Oreg ...

, was sworn in on June 29, 2012, replacing

John Kroger John Richard Kroger (born 1966) is an American lawyer who served as the president of Reed College. He served as Attorney General for the U.S. state of Oregon from 2009 to 2012. Prior to being elected in 2008, he had earlier served in the Marine ...

, a

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 ...

who was elected in 2008 and resigned six months before the end of his term to become President of

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

. She was re-elected in 2016 and 2020.

Duties

The attorney general represents the state of Oregon in all court actions and other legal proceedings in which it is a party or has an interest. They also conduct all legal business of state departments, boards and commissions that require legal counsel. Ballot titles for measures in Oregon elections are written by the attorney general, who also and appoints the assistant attorneys general who serve as counsel to the various state departments, boards and commissions. The attorney general provides written opinions upon any question of law in which any government entity within the state may have an interest when requested by the governor, any state agency official or any member of the legislature, but is prohibited by law from rendering opinions or giving legal advice to any other persons or agencies.

History

Original 1891 mandate

''An Act to Create the Office of Attorney-General, Provide the Duties and fix the Compensation,'' was enacted by the state legislature in 1891. Oregon's is only one of five state offices of Attorney General created by statute rather than by a provision of the constitution. The act established elections for the office, to be held every four years, any vacancy in the office to be filled by the governor until the next general election. The act provided that the attorney general be charged with litigating on behalf of the state, any "breach of contract, any bond or contract in which the state was interested," at the request of the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, or any state board. The attorney general was also to prosecute or defend all matters of interest to the state in the Supreme Court. Upon request, they could provide counsel and advice to county district attorneys. A requirement was also included for the keeping of records of opinions and official proceedings for future successors. Criminal investigation and prosecution was not included in the original mandate for the office, but remained with the various county district attorneys. The office was also charged with the preparation of contracts, bonds, and other documents when requested.

1947 reorganization

The role of the attorney general was greatly expanded, when the legislature created the Department of Justice and placed the attorney general at its head with the passage of ''An Act Creating the department of justice, prescribing its jurisdiction, and defining the powers and duties of the attorney general.'' In addition to the attorney general's existing role as attorney in all state-related supreme court cases, the act added that, when required by the governor or legislature, he would appear for the state in any court or tribunal. Through the newly created Justice Department, the attorney general would now have control and supervision of all civil actions and legal proceedings in which the state was a party or interested. The office was also given full control of all the legal business of all state offices, legal services performed by outside counsel being specifically prohibited. The attorney general's relationship to district attorneys was also expanded to include authority to require their assistance in cases brought before the Supreme Court from their respective counties. The act provided authority to take charge of any investigation or prosecution in which the circuit court had jurisdiction, when directed by the governor. This provision provided the attorney general all the powers of a district attorney, including the calling of the county grand jury to convene. The act also created the office of deputy attorney general, appointed by the attorney general with full authority to act on their behalf, and provided statutory, discretionary authority for the appointment of assistant attorneys general.

Later developments

The attorney general was provided with subpoena power in criminal investigations in 1993, and in 2002, the office was given additional powers relative to investigation and prosecution in

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

cases.

List of attorneys general of Oregon

The following table provides a list of the individuals who have served as Oregon Attorney General, with party affiliation and dates of service.

References

External links

Oregon Attorney General
official website
Oregon Revised Statutes
at Law.Justia.com
U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Oregon"
at FindLaw
Oregon State Bar

Press releases
at Oregon Attorney General {{Oregon statewide elected officials * 1891 establishments in Oregon