The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in 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 so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The

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 ...

serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's three elected state cabinet posts, along with the

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

and agriculture commissioner. The office is held by

James Uthmeier James William Uthmeier (born November 20, 1987) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 39th Florida Attorney General, Florida attorney general since 2025. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previou ...

, who was appointed by Governor

Ron DeSantis Ronald Dion DeSantis (; born September 14, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, and former United States Navy, naval officer serving as the 46th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Pa ...

following the resignation of

Ashley Moody Ashley Brooke Moody (born March 28, 1975) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from the state of Florida. A member of the Republican P ...

to become a

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 ...

Qualifications and Term of Office

Article IV, Section 4, of the

Constitution of Florida The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current State co ...

establishes the cabinet and the position of the attorney general. As with other elected statewide offices in Florida, the attorney general is limited to serving two consecutive four-year terms. The attorney general must meet the following qualifications to be eligible for the office: * A registered elector; * Not be less than 30 years old; * Have resided in the State for the preceding 7 years; and * Have been a member of the Florida Bar for 5 years. The attorney general is second (behind 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 ...

) in the line of succession to the office of

Governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

Removal from office

The Florida attorney general can be

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

for committing a "misdemeanor in office" by the State House of Representatives, and then convicted and thereby removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

Powers and duties

Title IV, Chapter 16 of the Florida statutes establish the general duties of the office. The general duties of the attorney general are as follows: * Issue official opinions on any question of law when requested in writing by a state officers or legislator; * Appear on behalf of the State in any civil suit or criminal prosecution, and in the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

and its appellate courts; * Act as co-counsel of record in capital collateral proceedings; * Other duties incident or usual to the office; and * Request the opinion of the justices of the supreme court as to the validity of any initiative petition circulated pursuant to Section 3 of Article XI of the Florida constitution. The

Florida solicitor general The solicitor general of Florida or Florida solicitor general is the top appellate (appeals) solicitor (lawyer) for the U.S. State of Florida. It is an appointed position in the Office of the Florida Attorney General and the individual serves at t ...

is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the attorney general. The current solicitor is Henry C. Whitaker.

List of Florida attorneys general

References

External links

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

at

FindLaw FindLaw is a business of Internet Brands that provides online legal information in the form of state laws, case law and codes, legal blogs and articles, a lawyer directory, DIY legal services and products, and other legal resources. The compa ...

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

The Florida Bar

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi 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 which therefore means that the United States Attorney General in the federal government is n ...

Press releases
at Florida Attorney General's office {{U.S. State Attorneys General