Michigan Attorney General

Michigan government official

Attorney General of the State of Michigan

Seal of the attorney general

Incumbent
Dana Nessel

since January 1, 2019

Michigan Department of Attorney General
Style| The Honorable
Residence| Private
Appointer| Popular Election
Term length| 4 Years, Renewable Once
Inaugural holder| Daniel LeRoy
Formation| 1837
Succession| Third
Website| www.michigan.gov/ag

The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, members of the Senate and members of the House of Representatives.

Since the Michigan Constitution of 1963 was adopted, the attorney general has served a term of four years. The officeholder is also limited to two terms, for a total of eight possible years of service; ten possible years of service if the officeholder serves two full terms and less than half of one term as a replacement.

“Inasmuch as the office of Attorney General has common law powers as the chief law enforcement officer of the State, [they] may exercise the powers of a peace officer and may appoint special agents having this status to assist [them] in enforcing [their] powers and carrying out [their] functions” (AG Opinion No. 5236,10/20/1977).

Michigan law, MCL 14.32, provides that "[i]t shall be the duty of the attorney general, when required, to give [their] opinion upon all questions of law submitted to [them] by the legislature, or by either branch thereof, or by the governor, auditor general, treasurer or any other state officer . . . ."

Michigan's current attorney general is Democrat Dana Nessel, who was elected in November 2018, and sworn into office on January 1, 2019.

## Courtesy title

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The attorney general traditionally receives the courtesy title of The Honorable for life.

## List of attorneys general of Michigan

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Attorney General  | In office  | Political party

|
|

| Daniel LeRoy | 1836–1837  |
| Peter Morey | 1837–1841  | Democratic
| Zephaniah Platt | 1841–1843  | Whig
| Elon Farnsworth | 1843–1845  | Democratic
| Henry N. Walker | 1845–1847  | Democratic
| Edward Mundy | 1847–1848  | Democratic
| George V. N. Lothrop | 1848–1851  | Democratic
| William Hale | 1851–1855  | Democratic
| Jacob M. Howard | 1855–1860  | Republican
| Charles Upson | 1861–1863  | Republican
| Albert Williams | 1863–1867  |
| William L. Stoughton | 1867–1869  | Republican
| Dwight May | 1869–1873  |
| Byron D. Ball | 1873–1874  | Republican
| Isaac Marston | 1874–1875  |
| Andrew J. Smith | 1875–1877  |
| Otto Kirchner | 1877–1881  | Republican
| Jacob J. Van Riper | 1881–1885  |
| Moses Taggart | 1885–1889  | Republican
| Stephen V. R. Trowbridge | 1889–1890  |
| Benjamin W. Huston | 1890  | Republican
| Adolphus A. Ellis | 1891–1895  | Democratic
| Fred A. Maynard | 1895–1899  |
| Horace M. Oren | 1899–1903  |
| Charles A. Blair | 1903–1905  |
| John E. Bird | 1905–1910  |
| Franz C. Kuhn | 1910–1912  | Republican
| Roger I. Wykes | 1912  | Republican
| Grant Fellows | 1913–1917  | Republican
| Alex J. Groesbeck | 1917–1921  | Republican
| Merlin Wiley | 1921–1923  | Republican
| Andrew B. Dougherty | 1923–1926  | Republican
| Clare Retan | 1926  | Republican
| William W. Potter | 1927–1929  | Republican
| Wilber M. Brucker | 1929–1931  | Republican
| Paul W. Voorhies | 1931–1933  | Republican
| Patrick H. O'Brien | 1933–1935  | Democratic
| Harry S. Toy | 1935  | Republican
| David H. Crowley | 1935–1937  | Republican
| Raymond Wesley Starr | 1937–1939  |
| Thomas Read | 1939-1940  | Republican
| Herbert J. Rushton | 1941–1944  | Republican
| John R. Dethmers | 1945–1946  | Republican
| Foss O. Eldred | 1946  | Republican
| Eugene F. Black | 1947–1949  | Republican
| Stephen John Roth | 1949–1951  |
| Frank Millard | 1951–1955  | Republican
| Thomas M. Kavanagh | 1955–1957  | Democratic
| Paul L. Adams | 1957–1961  | Democratic
| Frank J. Kelley | 1961–1999  | Democratic
| Jennifer Granholm | 1999–2003  | Democratic
| Mike Cox | 2003–2011  | Republican
| Bill Schuette | 2011–2019  | Republican
| Dana Nessel | 2019–present  | Democratic

Source: Michigan Manual 2003-2004, Chapter IV, Former Officials of Michigan

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Attorneys General of Michigan.

* Michigan Attorney General official website
* Michigan Attorney General articles at ABA Journal
* News and Commentary at FindLaw
* Michigan Compiled Laws at Law.Justia.com
* U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of Michigan" at FindLaw
* State Bar of Michigan
* Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel profile at National Association of Attorneys General
* Press releases at Michigan Attorney General

* v
* t
* e

Michigan statewide elected officials

* Governor
* Lieutenant Governor
* Secretary of State
* Attorney General

* v
* t
* e

Attorneys general of Michigan

Territorial (1805–37)|

* LeRoy

State (since 1837)|

* Morey
* Platt
* Farnsworth
* Walker
* Mundy
* Lothrop
* Hale
* Howard
* Upson
* Williams
* Stoughton
* May
* Ball
* Marston
* Smith
* Kirchner
* Van Riper
* Taggart
* Trowbridge
* Huston
* Ellis
* Maynard
* Oren
* Blair
* Bird
* Kuhn
* Wykes
* Fellows
* Groesbeck
* Wiley
* Dougherty
* Retan
* Potter
* Brucker
* Voorhies
* O'Brien
* Toy
* Crowley
* Starr
* Read
* Rushton
* Dethmers
* Eldred
* Black
* Roth
* Millard
* Kavanagh
* Adams
* Kelley
* Granholm
* Cox
* Schuette
* Nessel

* v
* t
* e

Michigan state agencies

* Government of Michigan

Principal
departments|

* Agriculture and Rural Development
* Attorney General
* Civil Rights
* Corrections
* Education
* Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
* Health and Human Services
* Insurance and Financial Services
* Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
* Military and Veterans Affairs
* Natural Resources
* State
* State Police
* Labor and Economic Opportunity
* Technology, Management and Budget
* Transportation
* Treasury

Current
units|

* Civil Service Commission
* Economic Development Corporation
* Gaming Control Board
* Geological Survey
* State Historic Preservation Office
* State Housing Development Authority
* Liquor Control Commission
* Mackinac Bridge Authority
* Mackinac Island State Park Commission
* Michigan Lottery
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration
* Public Service Commission
* Office of Retirement Services
* State Transportation Commission
* Veterans Affairs Agency
* Volunteer Defense Force

Former
departments|

* Department of History, Arts and Libraries
* Department of Information Technology
* Railroad Commission

* v
* t
* e

Attorneys general of the United States

United States Attorney General: ▌Pam Bondi (R)

▌Steve Marshall (R)

▌Treg Taylor (R)

▌Kris Mayes (D)

▌Tim Griffin (R)

▌Rob Bonta (D)

▌Phil Weiser (D)

▌William Tong (D)

▌Kathy Jennings (D)

▌James Uthmeier (R)

▌Christopher M. Carr (R)

▌Anne E. Lopez (D)

▌Raúl Labrador (R)

▌Kwame Raoul (D)

▌Todd Rokita (R)

▌Brenna Bird (R)

▌Kris Kobach (R)

▌Russell Coleman (R)

▌Liz Murrill (R)

▌Aaron Frey (D)

▌Anthony Brown (D)

▌Andrea Campbell (D)

▌Dana Nessel (D)

▌Keith Ellison (DFL)

▌Lynn Fitch (R)

▌Andrew Bailey (R)

▌Austin Knudsen (R)

▌Mike Hilgers (R)

▌Aaron Ford (D)

▌John Formella (R)

▌Matt Platkin (D)

▌Raúl Torrez (D)

▌Letitia James (D)

▌Jeff Jackson (D)

▌Drew Wrigley (R)

▌Dave Yost (R)

▌Gentner Drummond (R)

▌Dan Rayfield (D)

▌Dave Sunday (R)

▌Peter Neronha (D)

▌Alan Wilson (R)

▌Marty Jackley (R)

▌Jonathan Skrmetti (R)

▌Ken Paxton (R)

▌Derek Brown (R)

▌Charity Clark (D)

▌Jason Miyares (R)

▌Nick Brown (D)

▌JB McCuskey (R)

▌Josh Kaul (D)

▌Keith G. Kautz (R)

Federal districts:

▌Brian Schwalb (D)

Territories:

▌Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde

▌Doug Moylan (R)

▌Ed Manibusan (D)

▌Lourdes Gómez

▌Gordon Rhea

Political party affiliations

* ▌29 Republicans (28 states, 1 territory)
* ▌24 Democrats (22 states, 1 territory, 1 district)
* ▌1 New Progressive (1 territory)
* ▌2 Unknown (2 territories)
An asterisk (*) indicates that the officeholder is serving in an acting capacity.
State abbreviations link to position articles.

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