Florida Attorney General

Summary

The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs.

Attorney General of Florida
Seal of the attorney general of Florida
Incumbent
Ashley Moody
since January 8, 2019
Department of Legal Affairs
StyleThe Honorable
TypeChief Legal Officer
Member ofFlorida Executive Branch
Florida Cabinet
SeatTallahassee, Florida
AppointerPopular vote
Term lengthFour years, renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Florida
Inaugural holderJoseph Branch
Formation1845
Websitehttp://myfloridalegal.com/

The office is one of Florida's three elected state cabinet posts, along with the chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner. The current attorney general is Republican Ashley Moody, who took office on January 8, 2019.

Election and terms of office edit

As with other elected statewide offices in Florida, the attorney general is limited to serving two consecutive four-year terms.[1]

The attorney general is second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Florida.[2][3]

Removal from office edit

The Florida attorney general can be impeached 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.[4]

Powers and duties edit

The Florida solicitor general is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the attorney general. The current solicitor is Henry C. Whitaker.[5]

List of Florida attorneys general edit

Attorneys general by party affiliation
Party Attorneys general
Democratic 27
Republican 10
Whig 1
# Image Name Term of service Political party
1   Joseph Branch 1845–1846 Democratic
2   Augustus Maxwell 1846–1848 Democratic
3   James T. Archer 1848 Democratic
4   David P. Hogue 1848–1853 Whig
5   Mariano D. Papy 1853–1861 Democratic
6   John B. Galbraith 1861–1868 Democratic
7   James Westcott III 1868 Democratic
8 A. R. Meek 1868–1870 Republican
9 Sherman Conant 1870–1871 Republican
10   J. B. C. Drew 1871–1872 Republican
11   Horatio Bisbee Jr. 1872 Republican
12 J. P. C. Emmons 1872–1873 Republican
13   William A. Cocke 1873–1877 Democratic
14   George P. Raney 1877–1885 Democratic
15   Charles Merian Cooper 1885–1889 Democratic
16   William Bailey Lamar 1889–1903 Democratic
17   James B. Whitfield 1903–1904 Democratic
18   W. H. Ellis 1904–1909 Democratic
19   Park Trammell 1909–1913 Democratic
20   Thomas F. West 1913–1917 Democratic
21   Van C. Swearingen 1917–1921 Democratic
22   Rivers Buford 1921–1925 Democratic
23   J. B. Johnson 1925–1927 Democratic
24   Fred Henry Davis 1927–1931 Democratic
25   Cary D. Landis 1931–1938 Democratic
26   George Couper Gibbs 1938–1941 Democratic
27   J. Thomas Watson 1941–1949 Democratic
28   Richard Ervin 1949–1964 Democratic
29   James W. Kynes 1964–1965 Democratic
30   Earl Faircloth 1965–1971 Democratic
31   Robert L. Shevin 1971–1979 Democratic
32   James C. Smith 1979–1987 Democratic
33   Bob Butterworth 1987–2002 Democratic
34   Richard E. Doran 2002–2003 Republican
35   Charlie Crist 2003–2007 Republican
36   Bill McCollum 2007–2011 Republican
37   Pam Bondi 2011–2019 Republican
38   Ashley Moody 2019–present Republican

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Fla. Const. art. VI, § 4
  2. ^ "Constitution of Florida: Article IV, Section 3". Florida Legislature. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "Florida Statutes 14.055". Law Server. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Fla. Const. art. III, § 17
  5. ^ "Florida Attorney General - Solicitor General". www.myfloridalegal.com. Retrieved 2023-04-08.

External links edit

  • Florida Attorney General official website
  • Florida Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
  • News and Commentary at FindLaw
  • Florida Statutes at Law.Justia.com
  • U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Florida" at FindLaw
  • The Florida Bar
  • Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi profile at National Association of Attorneys General
  • Press releases at Florida Attorney General's office