The attorney general of California is the

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

of the

government of California The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the Constitution of California, California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It ...

. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (

Constitution of California The Constitution of California () is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's constitution was drafted in both English ...

, Article V, Section 13). The California attorney general carries out the responsibilities of the office through the

California Department of Justice The California Department of Justice is a statewide investigative law enforcement agency and legal department of the California executive branch under the elected leadership of the Attorney General of California (AG) which carries out comple ...

. 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 A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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 The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

chief justice of the United States Supreme Court The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants plenary power ...

, and

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. On March 24, 2021, Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...

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 The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

under President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. Bonta's appointment was subject to confirmation by both houses of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

, and he was sworn in on April 23, 2021.

Duties

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.California Constitution, Article V, Section 13
*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 Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a position it has since apologized for.

Diversity

Stanley Mosk Morey Stanley Mosk (September 4, 1912 – June 19, 2001) was an American jurist, politician, and attorney. He served as Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court for 37 years (1964–2001), the longest tenure in that court's history. ...

was the first adherent of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

to hold the office. *

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. ( ; June 6, 1928May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, he was the state's first governor of Armenian descent. B ...

was the first Armenian American to hold the office. *

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

was the first woman, the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, the

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

and the first

West Indian American Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the West Indies in particular or Caribbean in general. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in tim ...

to hold the office. * Xavier Becerra was the first Latino to hold the office. * Rob Bonta is the first

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

to hold the office.

List of attorneys general of California

References

External links

*
California Attorney General
articles at ''ABA Journal''

at

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Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...