What authority does the US Attorney General have?

Asked by: Ms. Keely Gleason  |  Last update: August 29, 2023
Score: 4.9/5 (65 votes)

The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters. Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.

What power does the U.S. Attorney General have?

The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters generally and gives advice and opinions to the President and to the heads of the executive departments of the Government when so requested.

Can the U.S. Attorney General indict someone?

The United States Attorney is authorized to initiate prosecution by filing a complaint, requesting an indictment from the grand jury, and when permitted by law, by filing an information in any case which, in his or her judgment, warrants such action, other than those instances enumerated in JM 9-2.120.

Who selects U.S. Attorney General?

The United States attorney general is the head of the U.S. Department of Justice. The position requires a presidential nomination and subsequent confirmation by the United States Senate.

How many US attorney generals are there?

In the order of creation, the position of attorney general was the fourth cabinet level position created by Congress, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Attorneys general may be impeached and removed from office by Congress. As of 2013 the office of U.S. Attorney General has been held by eighty two people.

The Attorney General

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What does the Constitution say about the Attorney General?

The Attorney General is not mentioned in the United States Constitution. But to say that the federal Attorney General's power and control of that power is in the hands of Congress is an overstatement.

Does the attorney general control the FBI?

Within the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI is responsible to the attorney general, and it reports its findings to U.S. Attorneys across the country. The FBI's intelligence activities are overseen by the Director of National Intelligence.

Can the US Attorney General prosecute?

§ 547, the role of the United States Attorney is to: (1) prosecute criminal cases brought by the federal government; (2) prosecute or defend civil cases where the United States is a party; and (3) collect debts owed to the federal government when administrative agencies are unable to do so.

Can the attorney general appoint the FBI director?

The Attorney General may appoint a Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Who has the power to fire the US Attorney General?

Appointment of U.S. Attorneys and the 2005 Patriot Act reauthorization. The President of the United States has the authority to appoint U.S. Attorneys, with the consent of the United States Senate, and the President may remove U.S. Attorneys from office.

What can the US Attorney General do?

The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters. Supervise and direct the administration and operation of the offices, boards, divisions, and bureaus that comprise the Department.

Is the US Attorney General in charge of the DOJ?

The Department of Justice – or “DOJ” – is the agency responsible for enforcing the federal law of the United States. The Attorney General of the United States – appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate – heads the DOJ with its more than 100,000 attorneys, special agents, and other staff.

Is Attorney General the highest?

Attorney General is the highest law officer in India. Article 76 of the Indian Constitution under its Part-V deals with the position of Attorney General of India.

Who protects the Attorney General?

FBI and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS):

The FBI operates the protective detail for the attorney general of the United States and also others as requested by DOJ. The attorney general is the FBI's only permanent personal protective mission.

Does the US Attorney General work for the president?

The Attorney General is the head of the DOJ and chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The Attorney General represents the United States in legal matters, advises the President and the heads of the executive departments of the government, and occasionally appears in person before the Supreme Court.

Who can override a power of attorney USA?

In general, the Principal (whomever created the Power of Attorney, or POA) can always override the legal document.

Is U.S. Attorney General above the Supreme Court?

Attorney general offices therefore play an active role before the Supreme Court. Collectively, they are the second most active litigant before the Court, behind only the U.S. government.

Is the attorney general immune from prosecution?

Pachtman7 the Court held that "in initiating a prosecution and in presenting the State's case" a prosecutor is a quasi-judicial officer and thus absolutely immune from suit.

Who has the highest authority in the FBI?

Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, the FBI is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.

Is the president the boss of the attorney general?

The attorney general serves in the Cabinet of the president of the United States. The attorney general is in charge of supervising United States attorneys and marshals in their respective judicial districts.

Is FBI higher rank than police?

No. State and local law enforcement agencies are not subordinate to the FBI, and the FBI does not supervise or take over their investigations. Instead, the investigative resources of the FBI and state and local agencies are often pooled in a common effort to investigate and solve the cases.

Can the Attorney General argue before the Supreme court?

But the Supreme Court in the few cases that have presented the issues of an attorney general's standing has allowed the United States Attorney General to dispute the constitutional- ity of federal legislation.

Who was Attorney General under Trump?

William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.

Who defends the government in court?

The Office of the Solicitor General argues on behalf of the government in virtually every case in which the United States is a party, and also argues in most of the cases in which the government has filed an amicus brief.