The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost.

History

The office of the attorney general was first created by the Ohio General Assembly by statute in 1846. 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 ...

's principal duties were to give legal advice to the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

, to represent the state in legal matters, and to advise the state's county prosecutors. Originally, the attorney general was appointed by the legislature. With the adoption of Ohio's second constitution in 1851, the attorney general became an elected office. The attorney general's duties were drawn very generally at that time. In 1952, the General Assembly passed a statute that added to the attorney general's responsibilities, including trusteeship over charitable trusts, and legal advice to more government agencies. The act stated that the attorney general could prosecute individuals only if the governor requested so in writing. Starting in 1954, the term of office was increased from two years to four years. In 2008 Nancy H. Rogers was appointed following the resignation of Marc Dann. A special election was held in 2008 to find a permanent replacement; then– Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray ( D) beat out Michael Crites ( R), and Robert M. Owens ( I) for the position. The Solicitor General of Ohio is the top appellate lawyer in the attorney general's office. In November 2014, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine secured a $22 million settlement from the credit score company ScoreSense, which is owned by the company One Technologies. DeWine had filed civil charges against the company along with the Illinois attorney general and Federal Trade Commission. Ohio consumers and state government will receive a portion of the settlement. According to the FTC, One Technologies "lured customers with "free access" to their credit scores and then billed them a recurring fee of $29.95 per month..." Over 200,000 consumers had filed complaints against the company.

List of attorneys general of Ohio (1846–present)

Elections

The voters of the U.S. state of

elect an attorney general for a four-year term. The winning candidate is shown in bold.

Notes

References

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External links

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

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine profile
at National Association of Attorneys General
Press releases
at Ohio Attorney General {{Ohio statewide elected officials 1846 establishments in Ohio Attorneys general