Florida Attorney General

The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs.

Attorney General of Florida
Seal of the Attorney General of Florida
Incumbent
Ashley Moody
since January 8, 2019
Department of Legal Affairs
Term lengthFour years, renewable once
Inaugural holderJoseph Branch
Formation1845
Websitehttp://myfloridalegal.com/

The office is one of Florida's three elected state cabinet posts, along with the chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner. The current attorney general is Republican Ashley Moody, who took office on January 8, 2019.

Election and terms of office

As with other elected statewide offices in Florida, the attorney general is limited to serving two consecutive four-year terms.[1]

The attorney general appoints the Florida solicitor general who serves at his or her pleasure. The current solicitor is Amit Agarwal.[2]

The attorney general is second (behind the lieutenant governor) in the line of succession to the office of Governor of Florida.[3][4]

Removal from office

The Florida attorney general can be impeached for committing a "misdemeanor in office" by the State House of Representatives, and then convicted and thereby removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the State Senate.

List of Florida attorneys general
Attorneys general by party affiliation
Party Attorneys General
Democratic 27
Republican 10
Whig 1
# Name Term of Service Political Party
1 Joseph Branch 1845–1846 Democratic
2 Augustus Maxwell 1846–1848 Democratic
3 James T. Archer 1848 Democratic
4 David P. Hogue 1848–1853 Whig
5 Mariano D. Papy 1853–1861 Democratic
6 John B. Galbraith 1861–1868 Democratic
7 James Westcott III 1868 Democratic
8 A. R. Meek 1868–1870 Republican
9 Sherman Conant 1870–1871 Republican
10 J. B. C. Drew 1871–1872 Republican
11 Horatio Bisbee Jr. 1872 Republican
12 J. P. C. Emmons 1872–1873 Republican
13 William A. Cocke 1873–1877 Democratic
14 George P. Raney 1877–1885 Democratic
15 Charles Merian Cooper 1885–1889 Democratic
16 William Bailey Lamar 1889–1903 Democratic
17 James B. Whitfield 1903–1904 Democratic
18 W. H. Ellis 1904–1909 Democratic
19 Park Trammell 1909–1913 Democratic
20 Thomas F. West 1913–1917 Democratic
21 Van C. Swearingen 1917–1921 Democratic
22 Rivers Buford 1921–1925 Democratic
23 J. B. Johnson 1925–1927 Democratic
24 Fred Henry Davis 1927–1931 Democratic
25 Cary D. Landis 1931–1938 Democratic
26 George Couper Gibbs 1938–1941 Democratic
27 J. Thomas Watson 1941–1949 Democratic
28 Richard Ervin 1949–1964 Democratic
29 James W. Kynes 1964–1965 Democratic
30 Earl Faircloth 1965–1971 Democratic
31 Robert L. Shevin 1971–1979 Democratic
32 James C. Smith 1979–1987 Democratic
33 Bob Butterworth 1987–2002 Democratic
34 Richard E. Doran 2002–2003 Republican
35 Charlie Crist 2003–2007 Republican
36 Bill McCollum 2007–2011 Republican
37 Pam Bondi 2011–2019 Republican
38 Ashley Moody 2019–present Republican

Living former Florida attorneys general

As of January 2021, there are six living former Florida attorneys general, the oldest being James C. Smith (served 1979–1987, born 1940). The most recent attorney general to die was Robert L. Shevin on July 11, 2005 (served 1971–1979, born 1934).

NameTerm of officeDate of birth (and age)
James C. Smith 1979–1987 (1940-05-25) May 25, 1940
Bob Butterworth 1987–2002 (1942-08-20) August 20, 1942
Richard E. Doran 2002–2003 (1956-12-26) December 26, 1956
Charlie Crist 2003–2007 (1956-07-24) July 24, 1956
Bill McCollum 2007–2011 (1944-07-12) July 12, 1944
Pam Bondi 2011–2019 (1965-11-17) November 17, 1965
  • James C. Smith, 1979–1987
  • Bob Butterworth, 1987–2002
  • Richard E. Doran, 2002–2003
  • Charlie Crist, 2003-2007
  • Bill McCollum, 2007–2011
  • Pam Bondi, 2011–2019

See also

References
  1. Fla. Const. art. VI, § 4
  2. http://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/942E87D800A2B1FB85257FCE0053F393
  3. "Constitution of Florida: Article IV, Section 3". Florida Legislature. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. "Florida Statutes 14.055". Law Server. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
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