New York Attorney General

State of New York Office of the Attorney General

Agency overview
Jurisdiction	New York
Headquarters	Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, New York
Agency executive	Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General
Parent agency	State of New York
Website
http://www.ag.ny.gov/

The New York State Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of New York. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government of New York.

The current Attorney General is Eric Schneiderman. He was elected on November 2, 2010 and took office on January 1, 2011.

1 Functions
2 Organization
- 2.1 First Deputy Attorney General
- 2.2 Solicitor General
3 Terms of Office
4 List of New York State Attorneys General
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Functions

The Attorney General advises the Executive branch of State government and defends actions and proceedings on behalf of the State. The Attorney General acts independently of the Governor of New York.

Organization

The legal functions of the Department of Law are divided primarily into five major divisions: Appeals and Opinions, State Counsel, Criminal Justice, Economic Justice and Social Justice.

First Deputy Attorney General

Harlan Levy,^[1] (2011-)

Solicitor General

Barbara D. Underwood,^[2] (2007-)
Caitlin Halligan, (2001–2007)
Preeta D. Bansal, (1999–2001)
Barbara Gott Billet [1], (1996–1998)
Victoria A. Graffeo, (1995–1996)
Jerry Boone[2], (1991–1994)
O. Peter Sherwood[3](1986–1991)

Terms of Office

From 1684 to 1777, when New York was under the British colonial government, the Attorney General was appointed by the British crown, or the colonial governor on its behalf. In 1693, the Attorney General earned a salary of 50 pounds.
From 1777 to 1822, the Attorney General was appointed by the Council of Appointment.
From 1823 to 1846, the Attorney General was elected by the New York State Legislature for a three-year term..
Attorneys General have been elected by the voters since 1847.

List of New York State Attorneys General

**New York State Attorneys-General, 1777–present**
Attorney General	Tenure	Party	Remarks
Egbert Benson	May 8, 1777 - May 14, 1788
Richard Varick	May 14, 1788 - September 29, 1789	Federalist
Aaron Burr	September 29, 1789 - November 8, 1791	Dem.-Rep.
Morgan Lewis	November 8, 1791 - December 24, 1792	Dem.-Rep.
Nathaniel Lawrence	December 24, 1792 - November 13, 1795	Dem.-Rep.
Josiah Ogden Hoffman	November 13, 1795 - February 3, 1802	Federalist
Ambrose Spencer	February 3, 1802 - February 3, 1804	Dem.-Rep.
John Woodworth	February 3, 1804 - March 18, 1808	Dem.-Rep.
Matthias B. Hildreth	March 18, 1808 - February 2, 1810	Dem.-Rep.
Abraham Van Vechten	February 2, 1810 - February 1, 1811	Federalist
Matthias B. Hildreth	February 1, 1811 - July 11, 1812	Dem.-Rep.	died in office
Thomas Addis Emmet	August 12, 1812 - February 13, 1813	Dem.-Rep.
Abraham Van Vechten	February 13, 1813 - February 17, 1815	Federalist
Martin Van Buren	February 17, 1815 - July 8, 1819	Dem.-Rep.
Thomas Jackson Oakley	July 8, 1819 - February 12, 1821	Federalist
Samuel A. Talcott	February 12, 1821 - January 27, 1829	Dem.-Rep.	first appointed, in 1823 elected by State Legislature, resigned shortly before the end of his second term
Greene C. Bronson	January 27, 1829 - January 12, 1836	Democrat	elected a justice of the State Supreme Court during his third term
Samuel Beardsley	January 12, 1836 - February 4, 1839	Democrat
Willis Hall	February 4, 1839 - February 7, 1842	Whig
George P. Barker	February 7, 1842 - February 3, 1845	Democrat
John Van Buren	February 3, 1845 - December 31, 1847	Democrat	legislated out of office by Constitution of 1846
Ambrose L. Jordan	January 1, 1848 - December 31, 1849	Whig	first Attorney General elected by general ballot
Levi S. Chatfield	January 1, 1850 - November 23, 1853	Democrat	resigned shortly before the end of his second term
Gardner Stow	December 8, 1853 - December 31, 1853		appointed to fill unexpired term
Ogden Hoffman	January 1, 1854 - December 31, 1855	Whig
Stephen B. Cushing	January 1, 1856 - December 31, 1857	American
Lyman Tremain	January 1, 1858 - December 31, 1859	Democrat
Charles G. Myers	January 1, 1860 - December 31, 1861	Republican
Daniel S. Dickinson	January 1, 1862 - December 31, 1863	Union
John Cochrane	January 1, 1864 - December 31, 1865	Union
John H. Martindale	January 1, 1866 - December 31, 1867	Republican
Marshall B. Champlain	January 1, 1868 - December 31, 1871	Democrat	two terms
Francis C. Barlow	January 1, 1872 - December 31, 1873	Republican
Daniel Pratt	January 1, 1874 - December 31, 1875	Democrat
Charles S. Fairchild	January 1, 1876 - December 31, 1877	Democrat
Augustus Schoonmaker, Jr.	January 1, 1878 - December 31, 1879	Democrat
Hamilton Ward, Sr.	January 1, 1880 - December 31, 1881	Republican
Leslie W. Russell	January 1, 1882 - December 31, 1883	Republican
Denis O'Brien	January 1, 1884 - December 31, 1887	Democrat	two terms
Charles F. Tabor	January 1, 1888 - December 31, 1891	Democrat	two terms
Simon W. Rosendale	January 1, 1892 - December 31, 1893	Democrat
Theodore E. Hancock	January 1, 1894 - December 31, 1898	Republican	two terms (1894–1895; 1896–1898)
John C. Davies	January 1, 1899 - December 31, 1902	Republican	two terms
John Cunneen	January 1, 1903 - December 31, 1904	Democrat
Julius M. Mayer	January 1, 1905 - December 31, 1906	Republican
William S. Jackson	January 1, 1907 - December 31, 1908	Democrat
Edward R. O'Malley	January 1, 1909 - December 31, 1910	Republican
Thomas Carmody	January 1, 1911 - September 2, 1914	Democrat	resigned shortly before the end of his second term
James A. Parsons	September 2, 1914 - December 31, 1914	Democrat	appointed to fill unexpired term
Egburt E. Woodbury	January 1, 1915 - April 19, 1917	Republican	resigned during his second term
Merton E. Lewis	April 19, 1917 - December 31, 1918	Republican	as First Deputy AG acted until being elected by the State Legislature on April 25 to fill unexpired first half of term, then re-elected in special election (Nov. 1917) for the other half (1918)
Charles D. Newton	January 1, 1919 - December 31, 1922	Republican	two terms
Carl Sherman	January 1, 1923 - December 31, 1924	Democrat
Albert Ottinger	January 1, 1925 - December 31, 1928	Republican	two terms
Hamilton Ward, Jr.	January 1, 1929 - December 31, 1930	Republican	son of Hamilton Ward, Sr. (AG 1880-1881)
John J. Bennett, Jr.	January 1, 1931 - December 31, 1942	Democrat	five terms
Nathaniel L. Goldstein	January 1, 1943 - December 31, 1954	Republican	three terms
Jacob K. Javits	January 1, 1955 - January 9, 1957	Republican	resigned having been elected U.S. Senator
Louis J. Lefkowitz	January 9, 1957 - December 31, 1978	Republican	elected by the State Legislature to fill unexpired term, then re-elected to five more terms, longest-serving Attorney General (8 days short of 22 years)
Robert Abrams	January 1, 1979 - December 31, 1993	Democrat	resigned a year before the end of his fourth term
G. Oliver Koppell	January 1, 1994 - December 31, 1994	Democrat	elected by the State Legislature to fill unexpired term
Dennis Vacco	January 1, 1995 - December 31, 1998	Republican
Eliot Spitzer	January 1, 1999 - December 31, 2006	Democrat	two terms, then elected Governor
Andrew Cuomo	January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2010	Democrat	one term, then elected Governor
Eric Schneiderman	January 1, 2011-	Democrat

References

External links

Officers in the State of New York

Current offices	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Speaker of the Assembly • Temporary President of the Senate • Secretary of State • Attorney General • State Comptroller • Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals • Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals • Clerk of the Court of Appeals

Defunct offices	State Treasurer • State Engineer • Superintendent of Public Works • Chancellor • Canal Commissioner • Inspector of State Prisons

Attorneys General of New York

Benson · Varick · Burr · M Lewis · Lawrence · J Hoffman · Spencer · Woodworth · Hildreth · Van Vechten · Hildreth · Emmet · Van Vechten · M Van Buren · Oakley · Talcott · Bronson · Beardsley · Hall · Barker · J Van Buren · Jordan · Chatfield · Stow · O Hoffman · Cushing · Tremain · Myers · Dickinson · Cochrane · Martindale · Champlain · Barlow · Pratt · Fairchild · Schoonmaker · Ward Sr · Russell · O'Brien · Tabor · Rosendale · Hancock · Davies · Cunneen · Mayer · Jackson · O'Malley · Carmody · Parsons · Woodbury · M E Lewis · Newton · Sherman · Ottinger · Ward Jr · Bennett · Goldstein · Javits · Lefkowitz · Abrams · Koppell · Vacco · Spitzer · Cuomo · Schneiderman

New York State Solicitors General

O. Peter Sherwood (1986-1991) · Jerry Boone (1991–1994) · Victoria A. Graffeo (1995–1996) · Barbara Gott Billet (1996–1998) · Preeta D. Bansal (1999–2001) · Caitlin Halligan (2001–2007) · Barbara D. Underwood (2007–present)

State of New York

Albany (capital)* The Empire State

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