Dustin McDaniel

Dustin McDaniel
55th Arkansas Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2007
Governor	Mike Beebe
Preceded by	Mike Beebe
Personal details
Born	April 29, 1972 (1972-04-29) (age 39) Fayetteville, Arkansas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Bobbi McDaniel
Religion	Episcopalian
Website	http://www.ag.arkansas.gov

Dustin McDaniel (born April 29, 1972, in Fayetteville, Arkansas)^[1] is the current Attorney General of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he assumed office on January 9, 2007, succeeding Mike Beebe, who became Governor of Arkansas.

Background

After attending Jonesboro public schools throughout his childhood, Dustin McDaniel went on to attend and graduate from the University of Arkansas, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Immediately after college, Dustin turned down admission to law school in order to become a uniformed patrol officer for the Jonesboro Police Department. He felt as though he needed to give something back to the community, and looking back says it is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things he has ever done. After completing law school, McDaniel became a partner in the Jonesboro law firm of McDaniel and Wells, where he practiced law with his father, Bobby McDaniel. Prior to becoming the Attorney General, McDaniel served one term in the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing Jonesboro's District 75.

As an attorney, Dustin has enjoyed a successful and respected career. Some of his professional accomplishments include:

• Appointed by Federal Judges of Arkansas’ Eastern District to serve on the Federal Practice Committee.

• Received the Arkansas Bar Association’s “Golden Gavel” award for serving as Chair of the Consumer Law Handbook Committee.

• Received the Arkansas Bar Association’s “Distinguished Service” award for having the Consumer Law Handbook translated into Spanish.

• Chairman of the Arkansas Bar Association Civil Litigation Section (2002 & 2003).

• Board of Governors – Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association

• McDaniel served as legal counsel for the Craighead County Democratic Central Committee and is a former member of the Democratic Party of Arkansas State Committee

As Attorney General

McDainel came out of a difficult runoff in the Democratic primary, beating North Little Rock City Attorney and Iraq War Vet Paul Suskie by a few thousand votes. During the campaign, 16 former Presidents of the Arkansas Bar Association came out endorsing McDaniels, [1], as well as former State Treasurer and 2002 Democratic Candidate for Governor, Jimmie Lou Fisher, (see Fisher's page for details). He then went on to easily beat State Senator Gunner DeLay, winning by almost twenty-one points [2]. When he was sworn in he became the youngest Attorney General in the country. [3]

As Attorney General he has been an active consumer advocate. He sued and got a settlement with Bayer Asprin over its marketing of Baycol, [4], and recently sued AstraZeneca over its marketing practices, [5]. He has demanded that payday lenders in Arkansas shut down or face legal action, ordering nearly 156 outlets shut down and stating: "In addition, I hereby demand you void any and all current and past-due obligations of your borrowers, and refrain from any collection activities related to these payday loans" [6] As Attorney General he institaged the "Be Street Smart Smart" Program to address the nearly 1.5 million dollars Arkansans lose a year to internet cyber scams. [7]

In March 2011, the Crime Victims Reparations Program recovered almost $272k for victims of crimes at this date, Dustin McDaniel also announced that the program that is administered by the Attorney General's office, had recovered nearly $3 million dollars to crime victims in 2010. [8]

In the 2011 Legislative session McDaniel has continued his work to protect children and families. Including ensuring that Arkansas's public schools stay out of court, strengthening laws to prevent sex offenders from interacting with children [9], and keeping harmful substances away from kids. "As the State's top law enforcement officer, I am committed to keeping harmful synthetic substances off store shelves and out of the hands of our children," McDaniel stated. [10]

Multiple pieces of important Legislation, proposed by the Attorney General's office have been passed, including Real Time Electronic Logbook (ACT 508), which creates an electronic, searchable database for law enforcement to use. Overall, 15 out of 16 of its proposed bills were passed, covering everything from consumer credit fraud, to adult businesses, to sexual predators. [11]

He faced reelection in 2010, running on protecting Arkansas Families and continuing to innovate the office for the benefit of all Arkansans. McDaniel defeated Green Party nominee Rebekah Kennedy of Quitman and write-in candidate Mark Rosson of Rison with about 70% of the vote (Kennedy had about 30%.).

References

1. ^ Arkansas News Bureau (May 14, 2006). "Young lawyers battle in attorney general primary". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20070926234959/http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2006/05/14/News/336174.html. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 

External links

• Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (official website)
• McDaniel for Attorney General 2006 (campaign website)

Persondata
Name	Macdaniel, Dustin
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	April 29, 1972
Place of birth	Fayetteville, Arkansas
Date of death
Place of death