Ohio Attorney General

Seal of the Attorney General of Ohio

The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The current^[update] Ohio Attorney General is Mike DeWine.

History

The office of the Ohio Attorney General was first created by the Ohio General Assembly by statute in 1846. The attorney general's principal duties were to give legal advice to the state government, to represent the state in legal matters, and to advise the state's county prosecutors. Originally, the attorney general was appointed by the legislature. With the adoption of Ohio's second constitution in 1851, the attorney general became an elected office. The attorney general's duties were drawn very generally at that time.

In 1952, the General Assembly passed a statute that added to the attorney general's responsibilities, including trusteeship over charitable trusts, and legal advice to more government agencies. The act stated that the attorney general could prosecute individuals only if the governor requested so in writing. Starting in 1954, the term of office was increased from two years to four years.

In 2008 Nancy H. Rogers was appointed following the resignation of Marc Dann. A special election was held in 2008 to find a permanent replacement; then-Ohio State Treasurer Richard Cordray (D) beat out Michael Crites (R), and Robert M. Owens (I) for the position.^[1]

The Solicitor General of Ohio is the top appellate lawyer in the Attorney General's office.

List of Attorneys General of Ohio, 1846-present

Term	Attorney General	Party	Home county	Image	Notes
1846–1851	Henry Stanbery	Whig	Fairfield
1851–1852	Joseph McCormick	Democratic	Adams
1852–1854	George Ellis Pugh	Democratic	Hamilton
1854–1856	George W. McCook	Democratic	Jefferson
1856	Francis D. Kimball	Republican	Medina		died
1856–1861	Christopher Wolcott	Republican	Summit
1861–1863	James Murray	Republican	Wood
1863–1865	Lyman R. Critchfield	Democratic	Holmes
1865	William P. Richardson	Unionist	Washington		resigned
1865–1866	Chauncey N. Olds	Republican	Pickaway
1866–1870	William H. West	Republican	Logan
1870–1874	Francis Bates Pond	Republican	Morgan
1874–1878	John Little	Republican	Greene
1878–1880	Isaiah Pillars	Democratic	Allen
1880–1883	George K. Nash	Republican	Franklin
1883–1884	David Hollingsworth	Republican	Harrison
1884–1886	James Lawrence	Democratic	Cuyahoga
1886–1888	Jacob A. Kohler	Republican	Summit
1888–1892	David K. Watson	Republican	Franklin
1892–1896	John K. Richards	Republican	Lawrence
1896–1900	Frank S. Monnette	Republican	Crawford
1900–1904	John M. Sheets	Republican	Putnam
1904–1908	Wade H. Ellis	Republican	Hamilton
1908–1911	Ulysses G. Denman	Republican	Lucas
1911–1915	Timothy S. Hogan	Democratic	Jackson
1915–1917	Edward C. Turner	Republican	Franklin
1917–1919	Joseph McGhee	Democratic	Jackson
1919–1923	John G. Price	Republican	Franklin
1923–1927	Charles C. Crabbe	Republican	Madison
1927–1929	Edward C. Turner (2nd)	Republican	Franklin
1929–1933	Gilbert Bettman	Republican	Franklin
1933–1937	John W. Bricker	Republican	Franklin
1937–1939	Herbert S. Duffy	Democratic	Franklin
1939–1945	Thomas J. Herbert	Republican	Cuyahoga
1945–1949	Hugh S. Jenkins	Republican	Mahoning
1949–1951	Herbert S. Duffy (2nd)	Democratic	Franklin
1951–1957	C. William O'Neill	Republican	Washington
1957–1959	William B. Saxbe	Republican	Champaign
1959–1963	Mark McElroy	Democratic	Cuyahoga
1963–1969	William B. Saxbe (2nd)	Republican	Champaign		resigned
1969–1971	Paul W. Brown	Republican	Franklin
1971–1983	William J. Brown	Democratic	Mahoning
1983–1991	Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.	Democratic	Cuyahoga
1991–1995	Lee Fisher	Democratic	Cuyahoga
1995–2003	Betty D. Montgomery	Republican	Wood
2003–2007	Jim Petro	Republican	Cuyahoga
2007–2008	Marc Dann	Democratic	Trumbull		resigned on May 14, 2008
2008–2009	Nancy H. Rogers	Democratic[2]	Franklin		Did not run in the subsequent special election.
2009–2011	Richard Cordray	Democratic	Franklin
2011–	Mike DeWine	Republican	Greene

References

1. ^ http://www.wkyc.com/news/elections/results/20081104/race2052.htm
2. ^ When appointed by Democratic Governor Ted Strickland on May 28, 2008, Ms. Rogers announced that she was a Democrat although she had been a registered Republican in the past and has donated money to Republican candidates.

See also

• Election Results, Ohio Attorney General