Attorney General of California

The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The California attorney general carries out the responsibilities of the office through the California Department of Justice. The department employs over 1,100 attorneys and 3,700 non-attorney employees.

The California attorney general is elected to a four-year term, with a maximum of two terms. The election is held during the same statewide election for the governor and other state offices. Several attorneys general have gone on to higher office or office on the federal level, including the offices of governor, United States Senator, chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, and vice president of the United States.

On March 24, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would be appointing Rob Bonta as attorney general to succeed Xavier Becerra, who resigned from the position to become Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. Bonta's appointment was subject to confirmation by both houses of the California State Legislature, and he was sworn in on April 23, 2021.

Duties

File:Californiaattorneygeneraloffice.jpg

The California attorney general's main office in Sacramento is housed in this building

According to the state Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Government Code, the attorney general:

• As the state's chief law officer, ensures that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced.
• Heads the Department of Justice, which is responsible for providing state legal services and support for local law enforcement.
• Acts as the chief counsel in state litigation.
• Oversees law enforcement agencies, including district attorneys and sheriffs.

History

Although the office of attorney general dates to the admission of California to the Union, the office in its modern form dates to Proposition 4 of 1934, sponsored by Alameda County District Attorney Earl Warren as one of four initiatives he sponsored to substantially reform law enforcement and the judiciary. Previously, the attorney general lacked jurisdiction over matters in the jurisdiction of locally elected district attorneys and sheriffs. Warren went on to become attorney general himself in 1938, reorganizing's the state's law enforcement into districts.

Under Robert W. Kenny, the office was complicit in the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, a position it has since apologized for.

Diversity

• Stanley Mosk was the first adherent of Judaism to hold the office.
• George Deukmejian was the first Armenian American to hold the office.
• Kamala Harris was the first woman, the first African American, the Asian American and the first West Indian American to hold the office.
• Xavier Becerra was the first Latino to hold the office.
• Rob Bonta is the first Filipino American to hold the office.

List of attorneys general of California

No.	Portrait	Name	Party		Term
1	File:Kewen.jpg	Edward J. C. Kewen	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	1849 – 1850
2	File:James A. McDougall.jpg	James A. McDougall	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	1850 – 1851
3	File:Serranus Clinton Hastings by John Chester Buttre (1).jpeg	Serranus C. Hastings	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 5, 1852 – January 2, 1854
4	File:John R. McConnell.jpg	John R. McConnell	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	1854 – 1856
5	File:William M. Stewart - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg	William M. Stewart	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	June 7, 1853 – December 1853 (acting)
6	File:William T. Wallace (1).jpg	William T. Wallace	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	American	January 1856 – January 1858
7	File:Thomas H. Williams.jpg	Thomas H. Williams	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	1858 – 1862
8	File:Frank Morrison Pixley (cropped).jpg	Frank M. Pixley	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	1862 – 1863
9	File:John G McCullough.jpg	John G. McCullough	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	1863 – 1867
10	File:Jo Hamilton 1 (a).jpg	Jo Hamilton	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871
11	File:John Love 11th Attorney General of California (1).jpg	John L. Love	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	December 8, 1871 – December 9, 1875
12	File:Jo Hamilton 1 (a).jpg	Jo Hamilton	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880
13	File:August L. Hart (1).jpg	Augustus L. Hart	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883
14	File:Edward-C-Marshall.jpg	Edward C. Marshall	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887
15	File:George A. Johnson (1).jpg	George A. Johnson	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 8, 1887 – January 8, 1891
16	File:William H. Hart.jpg	William H. H. Hart	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895
17	File:William Francis Fitzgerald.jpg	William F. Fitzgerald	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 7, 1895 – January 2, 1899
18	File:Tirey L. Ford 220.jpg	Tirey L. Ford	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 4, 1899 – September 14, 1902
19	File:Ulysses Sigel Webb 1903.jpg	Ulysses S. Webb	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	September 15, 1902 – January 3, 1939
20	File:Earl Warren, 1946.jpg	Earl Warren	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 4, 1943
21	File:Robert W. Kenny, 1943.jpg	Robert W. Kenny	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 4, 1943 – January 5, 1947
22	File:Frederick N. Howser, 1943.jpg	Frederick N. Howser	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 5, 1947 – January 8, 1951
23	File:Pat Brown, 1954.jpg	Pat Brown	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 8, 1951 – January 5, 1959
24	File:Stanley Mosk, 1963.jpg	Stanley Mosk	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 5, 1959 – August 31, 1964
25	File:Thomas C. Lynch, 1967.jpg	Thomas C. Lynch	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	August 31, 1964 – January 4, 1971
26	File:Evelle J. Younger, 1971.jpg	Evelle J. Younger	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 4, 1971 – January 8, 1979
27	File:George Deukmejian, 1975.jpg	George Deukmejian	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 8, 1979 – January 3, 1983
28	File:John Van de Kamp (1).jpg	John Van de Kamp	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991
29	File:Dan Lungren (3x4a).jpg	Dan Lungren	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Republican	January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999
30	File:Bill-Lockyer.jpg	Bill Lockyer	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007
31	File:Edmund G Brown Jr (3x4).jpg	Jerry Brown	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 8, 2007 – January 3, 2011
32	File:Kamala Harris Official Attorney General Photo (cropped).jpg	Kamala Harris	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017
33	File:Xavier Becerra official portrait (cropped).jpg	Xavier Becerra	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	January 24, 2017 – March 18, 2021
34	File:Rob Bonta official portrait (cropped).jpg	Rob Bonta	style="background-color:Template:Party color" |	Democratic	April 23, 2021 – Incumbent

See also

• Impeachment in California

External links

• California Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
• News and Commentary at FindLaw