Florida Attorney General
| Attorney General of Florida | |
|---|---|
| 120px
Seal of the Attorney General of Florida
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| Department of Legal Affairs | |
| Term length | Four years, renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | Joseph Branch |
| Formation | 1845 |
| Website | http://myfloridalegal.com/ |
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.
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 Pam Bondi, who took office on January 4, 2011. Her term will expire on January 6, 2015.
Contents
Election and terms of office
As with the other two cabinet posts and the office of lieutenant governor, there is a limit of two four-year terms for the Attorney General.[1] The Governor of Florida is restricted to two consecutive terms, with no lifetime limit on the number of terms he or she may serve.
The Attorney General appoints the Florida Solicitor General who serves at his or her pleasure. The current solicitor is Allen Winsor.
In the event that the offices of the governor of Florida and lieutenant governor of Florida are vacated, the attorney general then becomes governor.[2]
Removal from office
The Florida Attorney General can be impeached for committing a "misdemeanor in office" by the State Legislature, and convicted and thereby removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the State Senate.
Office holders
| # | Name | Term of Service | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Branch | 1845 - 1846 | |
| 2 | Augustus Maxwell | 1846 - 1848 | Democratic |
| 3 | James T. Archer | 1848 | Democratic |
| 4 | David P. Hogue | 1848–1853 | |
| 5 | Mariano D. Papy | 1853-1861 | |
| 6 | John B. Galbraith | 1861-1868 | |
| 7 | James Westcott, Jr. | 1868 | Democratic |
| 8 | A. R. Meek | 1868–1870 | |
| 9 | Sherman Conant | 1870-1871 | |
| 10 | J.B.C. Drew | 1871-1872 | |
| 11 | Horatio Bisbee, Jr. | 1872 | Republican |
| 12 | J.P.C. Emmons | 1872–1873 | |
| 13 | William A. Cocke | 1873-1877 | |
| 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 | |
| 19 | Park Trammell | 1909-1913 | Democratic |
| 20 | Thomas F. West | 1913-1917 | |
| 21 | Van C. Swearingen | 1917-1921 | |
| 22 | Rivers Buford | 1921-1925 | |
| 23 | J.B. Johnson | 1925-1927 | |
| 24 | Fred Henry Davis | 1927-1931 | Democratic |
| 25 | Cary D. Landis | 1931-1938 | |
| 26 | George Couper Gibbs | 1938-1941 | |
| 27 | J. Thomas Watson | 1941-1949 | |
| 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 | |
| 35 | Charlie Crist | 2003-2007 | Republican |
| 36 | Bill McCollum | 2007-2011 | Republican |
| 37 | Pam Bondi | 2011- | Republican |
See also
References
External links
- Florida Attorney General official website
- Florida Attorney General articles at Legal Newsline Legal Journal
- 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
