Attorney General of California | |
---|---|
Government of California Department of Justice | |
Style | The Honorable |
Term length | Four years, two term limit |
Inaugural holder | Edward J. C. Kewen 1849 |
Formation | California Constitution |
Salary | $151,127 |
Website | oag |
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to 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.[ citation needed ]
The California attorney general is elected to a four-year term, with a maximum of two terms. The election is held at the same statewide election as the governor, lieutenant governor, controller, secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, and insurance commissioner. A few individual attorneys general have gone on to higher offices on the state and 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. [1] [2] [3]
According to the state Constitution, the Code of Civil Procedure, and the Government Code, the attorney general:
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, [7] 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. [8] 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. [9]
No. | Portrait | Name | Party | Term | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Edward J. C. Kewen | Democratic | 1849 – 1850 | ||
2 | James A. McDougall | Democratic | 1850 – 1851 | ||
3 | Serranus C. Hastings | Democratic | January 5, 1852 – January 2, 1854 | ||
4 | John R. McConnell | Democratic | 1854 – 1856 | ||
5 | William M. Stewart | Democratic | June 7, 1853 – December 1853 (acting) | ||
6 | William T. Wallace | American | January 1856 – January 1858 | ||
7 | Thomas H. Williams | Democratic | 1858 – 1862 | ||
8 | Frank M. Pixley | Republican | 1862 – 1863 | ||
9 | John G. McCullough | Republican | 1863 – 1867 | ||
10 | Jo Hamilton | Democratic | December 5, 1867 – December 8, 1871 | ||
11 | John L. Love | Republican | 1871 – 1875 | ||
12 | Jo Hamilton | Democratic | December 9, 1875 – January 8, 1880 | ||
13 | Augustus L. Hart | Republican | January 8, 1880 – January 10, 1883 | ||
14 | Edward C. Marshall | Democratic | January 10, 1883 – January 8, 1887 | ||
15 | George A. Johnson | Democratic | January 8, 1887 – January 8, 1891 | ||
16 | William H. H. Hart | Republican | January 8, 1891 – January 11, 1895 | ||
17 | William F. Fitzgerald | Republican | January 7, 1895 – January 2, 1899 | ||
18 | Tirey L. Ford | Republican | January 4, 1899 – September 14, 1902 | ||
19 | Ulysses S. Webb | Republican | September 15, 1902 – January 3, 1939 | ||
20 | Earl Warren | Republican | January 3, 1939 – January 4, 1943 | ||
21 | Robert W. Kenny | Democratic | January 4, 1943 – January 5, 1947 | ||
22 | Frederick N. Howser | Republican | January 5, 1947 – January 8, 1951 | ||
23 | Pat Brown | Democratic | January 8, 1951 – January 5, 1959 | ||
24 | Stanley Mosk | Democratic | January 5, 1959 – August 31, 1964 | ||
25 | Thomas C. Lynch | Democratic | August 31, 1964 – January 4, 1971 | ||
26 | Evelle J. Younger | Republican | January 4, 1971 – January 8, 1979 | ||
27 | George Deukmejian | Republican | January 8, 1979 – January 3, 1983 | ||
28 | John Van de Kamp | Democratic | January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991 | ||
29 | Dan Lungren | Republican | January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999 | ||
30 | Bill Lockyer | Democratic | January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007 | ||
31 | Jerry Brown | Democratic | January 8, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | ||
32 | Kamala Harris | Democratic | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2017 | ||
33 | Xavier Becerra | Democratic | January 24, 2017 – March 18, 2021 | ||
34 | Rob Bonta | Democratic | April 23, 2021 – Incumbent |
The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branches: the executive, consisting of the governor of California and the other constitutionally elected and appointed officers and offices; the legislative, consisting of the California State Legislature, which includes the Assembly and the Senate; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. There is also local government, consisting of counties, cities, special districts, and school districts, as well as government entities and offices that operate independently on a constitutional, statutory, or common law basis. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.
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