The Attorney General of Arkansas, usually known simply as the Attorney General (AG), is one of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

's seven constitutional officers. The officeholder serves as the state's top

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, ...

and

consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...

advocate. Since January 13, 2015, the Attorney General of Arkansas has been

Leslie Rutledge Leslie Carol Rutledge (born June 9, 1976) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Arkansas, served as the 56th attorney general of Arkansas from 2015 to 2023. She is the 21st lieutenant governor of Arkansas, since 2023. Rutledge ...

History

The Attorney General was not originally a state constitutional officer but rather was created by Act 1 of 1843, which designated the Arkansas Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District as the attorney general. The first Attorney General of Arkansas was Robert W. Johnson. The Arkansas Constitution of 1868 made the post elective, though it required only that the attorney general “perform such duties as are now, or may hereafter, be prescribed by law.” This was reaffirmed in the constitution of 1874. Act 131 of 1911 laid out four general responsibilities of the attorney general's office: 1) to give opinions to state officers and agencies “upon any constitutional or other legal question that may concern the official action of said officers”; 2) to defend the interest of the state in federal court and representing all state officers, boards, and commissions in litigation involving the interests of the state; 3) to furnish any board or commission an opinion as to the validity of the title on any land they seek to purchase; and 4) to make a biennial report to the governor and the Arkansas General Assembly on all transactions of the attorney general's office.

Role and duties

The Attorney General represents state agencies and commissions in

courts of law A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

, giving opinions on issues presented by legislators and prosecutors, handling criminal matters and

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

matters in the state, and advocating for citizens on issues pertaining to the environment, antitrust, and consumer protection.

List of attorneys general

19th century

* Robert W. Johnson (1843) * Geo. C. Watkins (1843–1851) * J. J. Clendenin (1851–1856) * Thomas Johnson (1856–1858) * J. L. Hollowell (1858–1861) * P. Jordan (1861–1862) * Sam W. Williams (1862–1864) * Charles T. Jordan (1864–1865) Republican * R.S. Gantt (1865–1866) * R. H. Deadman (1866–1868) * J. R. Montgomery (1868–1873) Republican * Thomas D.W. Yonley (1873–1874) Republican * J. L. Witherspoon (1874) Democrat * Simon P. Hughes (1874–1876) Democrat * W. F. Henderson (1877–1881) Democrat * C. B. Moore (1881–1885) Democrat * D. W. Jones (1885–1889) Democrat * W. E. Atkinson (1889–1893) Democrat * J. P. Clarke (1893–1895) Democrat * E. B. Kinsworthy (1895–1899) Democrat * Jeff Davis (1899–1901) Democrat

20th century

George W. Murphy George Washington Murphy (January 8, 1841 – October 11, 1920) was a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War and served as the 22nd attorney general of Arkansas. Murphy was born and grew up in Huntingdon, Tennessee. He e ...

(1901–1905) Democrat * Robt. L. Rogers (1905–1907) Democrat * Wm. F. Kirby (1907–1909) Democrat * Hal L. Norwood (1909–1913) Democrat * William L. Moose (1913–1915)https://books.google.com/books?id=3sI5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA3&dq=j.r.+montgomery+attorney+general+of+arkansas&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUs-_7hbv6AhV2QzABHf4xDrkQ6AF6BAgKEAM#v=onepage&q=j.r.%20montgomery%20attorney%20general%20of%20arkansas&f=false Democrat *

Wallace Davis Wallace Davis was a former professional American football player who played in the National Football League. He played for the Atlanta Falcons In college, he played for the Lincoln University. After retiring from the NFL, he was the head football ...

(1915–1917) * John D. Arbuckle (1917–1921) * J. S. Utley (1921–1925) * W. H. Applegate (1925–1929) * Hal L. Norwood (1929–1934) * Walter L. Pope (1934–1935) * Carl E. Bailey (1935–1937) * Jack Holt (1937–1943) * Guy E. Williams (1943–1949) * Ike Murry (1949–1953) * Tom Gentry (1953–1957) * Bruce Bennett (1957–1961) * J. Frank Holt (1961-1962) * Jack Holt, Jr. (1962–1963) * Bruce Bennett (1963–1967) *

Joe Purcell Joe Edward Purcell (July 29, 1923 – March 5, 1987) was an American politician and attorney who served as Acting Governor of Arkansas for six days in 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 45th Attorney General of Arkansas from ...

(1967–1971) *

Ray Thornton Raymond Hoyt Thornton Jr. (July 16, 1928 – April 13, 2016)Arkansas CourtsA Self-Guided Tour of Justice Building Portraits(2016), p. 11. was an American attorney and politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 4th ...

(1971–1973) * Rodney Parham (1973) *

Jim Guy Tucker James Guy Tucker Jr. (born June 13, 1943) is an American politician and attorney from Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 43rd governor of Arkansas, the 15th lieutenant governor, state attorney general, and U.S. repre ...

(1973–1977) * Bill Wilson (1977) *

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

(1977–1979) * Steve Clark (1979–1990) * Ron Fields (1990) * Mary Stallcup (1990-1991) *

Winston Bryant Winston Bryant (born October 3, 1938) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Secretary of State of Arkansas (1977–1978), the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (1981–1991) and Arkansas Attorney General (1991–1999). Ea ...

(1991–1999) Democrat *

Mark Pryor Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorn ...

(1999–2003) Democrat

21st century

* Leon Johnson (2003) *

Mike Beebe Mickey Dale Beebe ( ; born December 28, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 45th governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Amagon, Arkansas, Beebe is a graduate of Arkan ...

(2003–2006) Democrat *

Dustin McDaniel Dustin Blake McDaniel (born April 29, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 55th Attorney General of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he a founding partner of the Little Rock, Arkansas law firm ...

(2007–2015) Democrat *

(2015–2023) Republican *

Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Eastern Dist ...

(2023–present) Republican

References

External links

;Official * ; General information *
Attorneys General of Arkansas
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

* {{Authority control Attorney General Attorney General Attorney General