The attorney general of Oklahoma 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 ...

for the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The attorney general serves as the chief legal and law enforcement officer of the

State of Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northeast, Arkansas to the east, New Mexico to the west, and Colo ...

and head of the

Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is an agency of the Oklahoma state government that is headed by the Attorney General of Oklahoma. The OAG is responsible for supervising the administration of justice across the State, providing legal ass ...

. The attorney general is responsible for providing legal advice to the other departments and agencies of the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

and

judicial branch The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

of the state government. The attorney general is also responsible for the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

of offenses against

Oklahoma law Oklahoma law is based on the Oklahoma Constitution (the State constitution (United States), state constitution), which defines how the statutes must be passed into law, and defines the limits of authority and basic law that the Oklahoma Statutes m ...

and advocate for the basic legal rights of Oklahoma residents. The 20th attorney general of Oklahoma is Gentner Drummond. He succeeded the 19th attorney general of Oklahoma,

John M. O'Connor John Michael O'Connor (born December 5, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 19th Attorney General of Oklahoma, attorney general of Oklahoma between 2021 and 2023. O’Connor was previously a shareholder of Hall Estill ...

. The 18th attorney general of Oklahoma was Mike Hunter, who assumed that post on February 20, 2017, serving until his resignation on June 1, 2021. Governor

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 Oklahoma gub ...

appointed him to succeed

Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt (born May 9, 1968) is an American attorney, lobbyist and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma. He served as the 14th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) f ...

who was nominated on December 7, 2016 by

President-elect An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Un ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to be the next administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

as EPA Administrator on February 17, 2017.

Election

The state attorney general is elected directly by the people of Oklahoma. Elections for the office are held on a four-year basis. In the event of a tie between two or more candidates, the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

, by joint ballot, chooses one of the candidates. According to Article V of the

Oklahoma Constitution The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the United States, U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th U.S. state. At its ratificatio ...

require, persons running for the office must be a citizen of the state, a resident of the United States for ten years, and at least thirty-one years of age. The state attorney general's term lasts for four years and runs parallel with the term of the

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gover ...

, beginning on the first Monday in January following their election. As originally written, the

placed no limits on the number of terms an individual could serve as attorney general. Following the results of the 2010 state elections, the state constitution was amended to limit the attorney general to no more than two terms, consecutive or not.

Powers and responsibilities

The Attorney General is the

chief legal officer A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of Oklahoma. The Attorney General's duties include the following: *Providing legal advice and representation in court for the Governor and the state government in general *Providing legal advice, official opinions, to the Governor and members of the Legislature *Defending the state in cases of criminal appeals and suits against the state *Defending the constitutionality of state laws One primary responsibility of the Attorney General is to appear before the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

or the

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals is one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and is part of the Oklahoma Court System, the judicial branch of the Oklahoma state government.

and prosecute or defend all actions and proceedings, civil or criminal, in which the state is a party. This duty extends to representing the state in any

United States federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

as well. The Attorney General may also prosecute or defend the state or the people of the state when their interests are before any state commission, board or office. It is also the duty of the Attorney General to institute civil actions against members of any state board, commission, or office for failure to perform their legal duties as well as to prosecute members of any state board, commission, or office for violation of the criminal laws when such violations have occurred in connection with the performance of their official duties. Another primary role of the Attorney General is to provide a

legal opinion In law, a legal opinion is in certain jurisdictions a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling. Opinions are in those jurisdi ...

upon all questions of law submitted to the Attorney General. Such questions may be submitted by the Legislature (or either branch thereof) or by any state officer, board, commission or department. However, the Attorney General may only provide a legal opinion on matter related to the official duties of the officers that submitted the question and may not act a private attorney. However, members of the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

and

Oklahoma Senate The Oklahoma Senate is the upper house of the two houses of the Legislature of Oklahoma, the other being the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The total number of senators is set at 48 by the Oklahoma Constitution.Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector, Oklahoma State Treasurer, or either branch of the Legislature, the Attorney General may prosecute for any violation of any contract in which the state is interested. When requested to do so by any state officer, board or commission, the office must also prepare proper drafts for contracts, forms and other writing which may be wanted for the use of the state. If funds are illegally expended, upon the request of the Governor or the Legislature, it is the Attorney General who is responsible for instituting actions to recover such funds. This duty also extends to recovering state property and to preventing the illegal use of any state property. After collecting money owed to the state, the Attorney General must deposit all funds into the State Treasury immediately. The Attorney General has the power to convene multi-county

grand juries A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

. At any time, the Legislature, or either chamber thereof, may require the Attorney General to submit a report on any business relating to the duties of the Attorney General's office.

Relationship with Governor

Though the

and Attorney General are elected at the same time, each is directly elected. Since both are directly chosen by the voters, the relationship between the offices can vary based on the individuals who hold the offices; this can become evident when the Governor and the Attorney General are of different parties, which has become more frequent since Republicans have been making gains in statewide elections. Democratic Attorney General Charles R. Nesbitt and Republican Governor Henry Bellmon in 1963 was the first instance of this occurrence. Since then this has happened two more times: in 1987 with Republican Governor Henry Bellmon and Democratic Attorney General Robert Harlan Henry, in 1995 with Republican Governor Frank Keating and Democratic Attorney General Drew Edmondson. When a Governor and Attorney General are of the same party, the relationship often becomes more collegial. However, when the Governor and Attorney General are of different parties, the relation can become somewhat adversarial. This was demonstrated when, in 2001, Governor Keating and Attorney General Edmondson were the plaintiff and defendant in the

case '' Keating v. Edmondson''. The Governor, as the chief executive of the State, determines the budget for the entire State Government (including the Attorney General's Office). Additionally, any power or function of the Attorney General must be exercised at the direction of the Governor. Should the Attorney General refuse, the Governor has the power to employ Special Counsel to exercise the Attorney General's power for him. The Oklahoma Secretary of Safety and Security, who is appointed by the Governor and serves at his pleasure, oversees the activities of the Attorney General's Office on behald of the Governor. On the other hand,

s issued by the Attorney General are binding on the Governor until overturned by a court of law.

Relations with District Attorneys

Though the Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the State, the State's several District Attorneys (which are the primary local prosecutors of the State) are directly elected and not under the control of the Attorney General. The State is divided into 27 judicial districts, each with one District Attorney. The main purpose of the District Attorney is the prosecution of all criminal actions that occur in their district as well as representing the State in all civil actions arising out of their district. The Attorney General does not have the power to direct, stop, prevent or otherwise interfere with a District Attorney choosing to prosecute an individual or not. The primary relations between the Attorney General and the District Attorneys is that in cases appealed from the Trial Court level, the Attorney General represents the State at the Appeal Court level instead of the District Attorney. While the Attorney General does not control local District Attorneys, he does have the power to require the aid and assistance of any District Attorney (in their respective District) on matters related to the Attorney General functions or case brought to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma or the

from their respective District. Likewise, any District Attorney may request the assistance of the Attorney General in any matter related to the District Attorney's functions. Such request must be submitted to the

, and; should they approve, the Governor will direct the Attorney General to assist the requesting District Attorney. There is no appeal of the Governor's decision on this matter.

Oath

"I, ........., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma, and that I will not, knowingly, receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing, for the performance or nonperformance of any act or duty pertaining to my office, other than the compensation allowed by law; I further swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully discharge my duties as Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma to the best of my ability."

Office-holders

;Parties

References

External links

Oklahoma Attorney General
official website
Oklahoma Statutes
at Law.Justia.com
U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Oklahoma"
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 ...

Oklahoma Bar AssociationOklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt 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 Oklahoma Attorney General {{authority control * State law enforcement agencies of Oklahoma Oklahoma law-related lists