Attorney General for the District of Columbia
The attorney general for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that made the office an elected position beginning in 2015. The current Attorney General is Brian Schwalb, who has served since January 2, 2023.
Attorney General of the District of Columbia | |
---|---|
![]() Seal of the Office of the Attorney General | |
since January 2, 2023 | |
Term length | Four years, renewable |
Formation | 1973 |
Website | Office of the Attorney General |
History
editCharter amendment
editIn the November 2, 2010, general election, voters approved Charter Amendment IV that made the office of Attorney General an elected position.
Choice | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Yes | 90,316 | 75.78 |
No | 28,868 | 24.22 |
Total votes | 119,184 | 100.00 |
Registered voters/turnout | 453,014 | 26.30 |
Election delays
editIn July 2012,[3] the District of Columbia council voted to postpone the election of attorney general to 2018, citing a dispute over how much power the elected attorney general would have. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson called the vote "an embarrassment."[3]
In September 2013, Paul Zukerberg filed suit against the District of Columbia Council and the city elections claiming any delay would violate the District charter — which was amended through the 2010 ballot question to provide for the election of the city’s top lawyer.[3] Attorney General Irv Nathan initially argued that Zukerberg was not suffering any “meaningful hardship” from pushing back the election.[4]
On February 7, 2014, a District of Columbia Superior Court judge ruled that ballots for the April 1 primary could be printed without the Attorney General race.[5] Zukerberg appealed the ruling, declaring himself a candidate and arguing that he would suffer "irreparable harm" if the election were postponed.[6][7]
On June 4, 2014, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision. The Court held "that the Superior Court's interpretation was incorrect as a matter of law" and reversed. The Court ruled that the original language in the Elected Attorney General Act is ambiguous in stating the election "shall be after January 1, 2014," and that the attorney general referendum ratified by a majority of District of Columbia voters in 2010 made it seem as though the election would take place in 2014.[8] On June 13, Zukerberg collected nominating petitions.[9]
2014 election
editJoining Zukerberg as candidates for the position were insurance litigator and activist Lorie Masters, federal lawyer Edward "Smitty" Smith, white-collar attorney Karl Racine, and legislative policy analyst Lateefah Williams.[4][10][11][12] Racine secured a plurality victory, winning 36% of the votes cast, and was sworn in as the first elected Attorney General in January 2015.[13][14][15]
List of officeholders
editIn 1824, the position of City Attorney was established by resolution of the City Council. When the District of Columbia took on the territorial form of government on July 1, 1871, the position of Attorney for the District of Columbia was established by the First Legislative Assembly.[16] In 1901, the position title was changed to City Solicitor, and in 1902, the title was changed to Corporation Counsel, which it remained until 2004. In 2004, the office's name was changed from Corporation Counsel to Attorney General by Mayor's Order 2004-92, May 26,[17] making Robert Spagnoletti the only person to hold both titles.[citation needed]
City attorneys (1824-1871)
editName | Took office | Left office |
---|---|---|
Richard Wallach | July 1, 1824 | June 30, 1830 |
Richard S. Cox | July 1, 1830 | June 30, 1834 |
Joseph H. Bradley | July 1, 1834 | June 30, 1850 |
James M. Carlyle | July 1, 1850 | June 30, 1854 |
James H. Bradley | July 1, 1854 | June 30, 1856 |
James M. Carlyle | July 1, 1856 | June 30, 1862 |
Joseph H. Bradley | July 1, 1862 | June 30, 1867 |
Joseph H. Bradley, Jr. | July 1, 1867 | June 30, 1868 |
William A. Cook | July 1, 1868 | June 30, 1870 |
Enoch Totten | July 1, 1870 | May 31, 1871 |
Appointed before Home Rule
editImage | Name | Took office | Left office | President(s) of the Board | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William A. Cook | July 2, 1871 | July 2, 1874 | |||
Edward L. Stanton | July 3, 1874 | October 31, 1876 | |||
William Birney | November 1, 1876 | October 31, 1877 | |||
Alfred G. Riddle | November 1, 1877 | November 30, 1889 | |||
George C. Hazelton | 1889 | 1893 | John Watkinson Douglass | ||
Sidney J. Thomas | 1893 | 1899 | John Wesley Ross; John Brewer Wright | ||
Andrew B. Duvall[18][19] | 1899 | September 12, 1905 | John Brewer Wright; Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland | ||
Edward H. Thomas[20] | 1905 | 1913 | Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland; Cuno Hugo Rudolph | ||
Conrad H. Syme[21] | 1913 | 1920 | Oliver Peck Newman; Louis Brownlow | ||
Francis H. Stephens[16] | 1920 | 1927 | |||
William W. Bride | 1927 | 1934 | Proctor L. Dougherty; Luther Halsey Reichelderfer; Melvin Colvin Hazen | ||
E. Barrett Prettyman | 1934 | 1936 | Melvin Colvin Hazen | ||
Elwood H. Seal | 1936 | 1940 | |||
Richmond B. Keech | 1940 | 1945 | |||
Vernon West[22] | 1945 | ||||
Chester H. Gray | 1956 | 1965 | Robert E. McLaughlin, Walter Nathan Tobriner | ||
Charles T. Duncan[23][24] | 1966 | 1970 | Walter Nathan Tobriner | ||
C. Francis Murphy | 1970 | 1976 | Mayor-Commissioner Walter Washington |
Appointed after Home Rule
editElected
editNo. | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | Mayor(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | Karl Racine | January 2, 2015 | January 2, 2023 | Muriel Bowser | ||
16 | Brian Schwalb | January 2, 2023 | present |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "General Election 2010". District of Columbia Board of Elections. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ "The Elected Attorney General Charter Amendment" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections. August 13, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
- ^ a b c "District of Columbia Council delays first election of attorney general". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ a b "Attorney Paul Zukerberg Suing District of Columbia Council Over Timing of Attorney General Election". Washingtonian.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
- ^ "District of Columbia Judge: AG Race Won't Be on April 1 Ballot". CBS. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ "Paul Zukerberg Appeals Attorney General Election Decision". dcist.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ^ Matt Cohen (February 7, 2014). "There Will Not Be An Attorney General Election This April". DCist. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
- ^ Matt Cohen (June 4, 2014). "Court Rules City Must Hold Attorney General Election This Year (UPDATE)". DCist. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- ^ Matt Cohen and Sarah Anne Hughes (June 13, 2014). "Board Of Elections Hands Over Ballot Petitions For An Elected Attorney General". DCist. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
- ^ Mike DeBonis (July 16, 2014). "Lorie Masters seeks D.C. attorney general post in November election". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ^ Mike DeBonis (July 7, 2014). "Edward 'Smitty' Smith, former federal lawyer, joins D.C. attorney general race". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Jennifer van der Kleut (July 16, 2014). "D.C. attorney general race: One candidate drops out, four new ones jump in". ABC7 WJLA. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ "DC Board of Elections and Ethics: Election Results". Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- ^ "D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine takes sides in Obama immigration fight". Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
- ^ "Karl Racine wins first-ever race for D.C. attorney general". Washington Post. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ^ a b West, Vernon E. (1946). "History and Functions of the Office of the Corporation Counsel". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 48/49: 113–126. ISSN 0897-9049. JSTOR 40064088.
- ^ "D.C. Law Library - § 1–301.111. Duties of the Corporation Counsel. [Repealed]". code.dccouncil.us. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ Richard A. Ford, ed. (1905). "The Daily Washington Law Reporter". 33: 577. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Eminent and Representative Men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the Nineteenth Century: With a Concise Historical Sketch of Virginia". Brant & Fuller. 1893: 103. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
andrew b duvall district.
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(help) - ^ District of Columbia. Board of Commissioners (1905). "Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia". 4: 34. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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(help) - ^
J. R. Cole (1917). "History of Greenbrier County": 166–171. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ West, Vernon E. (1946). "History and Functions of the Office of the Corporation Counsel". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 48/49: 113–126. ISSN 0897-9049. JSTOR 40064088.
- ^ Adam Bernstein (May 7, 2004). "D.C. Lawyer, Educator Charles Duncan Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "Legends in the Law: Charles T. Duncan". Bar Report. June–July 1996. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "C. Francis Murphy Dies". The Washington Post. July 30, 1993. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al "District of Columbia Former Attorneys General". National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Retrieved April 30, 2018.
- ^ Richard Pearson (February 22, 1999). "JOHN RISHER, FORMER D.C. CORPORATION COUNSEL, DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ a b c Milton Coleman (April 12, 1979). "Barry Appoints Corporation Counsel". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Official Biography at District of Columbia Circuit". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- ^ Biography at Rubin, Winston, Diercks, Harris & Cooke, L.L.P.
- ^ "Biography at District of Columbia Court of Appeals" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ^ "District of Columbia Bar interview". Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ^ Press Release Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine from Teal's time as Corporation Counsel
- ^ a b December 8, 2006 Opinion of the Attorney General
- ^ "Former D.C Attorney General Peter Nickles returns to law firm". Washington Business Journal. American City Business Journals. January 6, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- ^ David Nakamura (October 18, 2008). "D.C. Drafts Suit Against Bank for Tax-Scam Cash". The Washington Post. p. 2. Retrieved April 26, 2016. (Nickles began his tenure as Acting Attorney General.)
External links
edit- District of Columbia Attorney General official website
- Search for articles at ABA Journal
- News and Commentary at FindLaw
- District of Columbia Code at Law.Justia.com
- U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: District of Columbia" at FindLaw
- District of Columbia Bar
- District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine profile at National Association of Attorneys General
- Press releases at District of Columbia Attorney General