United States Attorney General

United States Attorney General
source
Post	United States Attorney General
Body	the
Insigniasize	150
Insigniacaption	Seal of the Department of Justice
Incumbent	Merrick Garland
Incumbentsince	March 11, 2021
Department	United States Department of Justice
Style	Mr. Attorney General, (informal), The Honorable, (formal)
Member of	Cabinet, National Security Council
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, Washington, D.C.
Nominator	President of the United States
Appointer	President of the United States, with Senate advice and consent
Termlength	No fixed term
Formation	September 26, 1789
First	Edmund Randolph
Deputy	United States Deputy Attorney General
Salary	Executive Schedule, level I
Website	[https://www.justice.gov/ag Attorney General]

United States Attorney General The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice and the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. Appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, the Attorney General serves as a principal advisor to the President on legal matters. The office holds immense significance for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, as the Attorney General possesses the authority to enforce federal civil rights laws, initiate litigation to protect constitutional rights, and shape national policy on issues of racial justice, voting rights, and equal protection under the law.

Role and Constitutional Authority

The role of the Attorney General is established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, which created the office to represent the United States in legal matters and provide advice to the President and the heads of executive departments. While not a constitutionally mandated office, its authority is derived from the President's duty under Article II to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." The Attorney General oversees the vast apparatus of the Department of Justice, which includes key litigating divisions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Bureau of Prisons. A core function is the enforcement of federal statutes, including landmark civil rights legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act. The Attorney General can direct resources toward investigating civil rights violations, file amicus curiae briefs in pivotal Supreme Court cases, and issue formal legal opinions that guide federal agencies.

Historical Involvement in Civil Rights Enforcement

The historical involvement of the Attorney General in civil rights has been deeply inconsistent, often reflecting the political priorities of the administration in power. In the post-Reconstruction era, Attorneys General were largely inactive or hostile to the rights of African Americans, failing to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment. A significant shift began under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy during the Kennedy administration. He deployed U.S. Marshals to protect Freedom Riders and supported litigation to desegregate universities like the University of Mississippi. His successor, Nicholas Katzenbach, famously confronted George Wallace at the University of Alabama in 1963. The creation of the Civil Rights Division in 1957 institutionalized this enforcement role within the Department of Justice. Later, Attorney General John Mitchell, under President Richard Nixon, pursued a policy of "Southern strategy" that often undermined civil rights enforcement, highlighting the office's politically contingent nature.

Key Civil Rights Litigation and Opinions

Attorneys General have initiated or overseen landmark civil rights cases that have shaped American jurisprudence. The office was central to the litigation strategy following Brown v. Board of Education (1954), with Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. filing briefs urging desegregation. In the 1960s, the Department of Justice, under Attorneys General Kennedy and Katzenbach, filed numerous suits to enforce voting rights and desegregate public facilities across the Southern United States. In 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the department would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a major step for LGBT rights in the United States. The office also issues formal opinions; for example, in 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum stating the Violence Against Women Act's provisions protecting Native American victims were constitutional, reaffirming tribal sovereignty in public safety matters.

Relationship with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

The Attorney General provides direct supervision and sets the enforcement priorities for the Civil Rights Division, the primary engine for federal civil rights litigation. Established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the division is headed by an Assistant Attorney General appointed by the President. The Attorney General's commitment determines the division's vigor, budget, and focus areas—such as prosecuting hate crimes under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, challenging discriminatory gerrymandering, or enforcing the Americans with the Disabilities Act. Under Attorneys General like Janet Reno and Eric Holder, the division was notably active in policing reform and challenging restrictive voter ID laws. Conversely, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the division shifted its focus away from investigating systemic police misconduct, demonstrating the Attorney General's profound influence on the division's mandate.

Modern Challenges and Controversies in the United States

Modern Attorneys General face complex civil rights challenges that often become politically contentious. Key areas of focus and controversy include: enforcing federal protections against discrimination by law enforcement agencies, a central issue following the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement; combating laws that disproportionately restrict voting access for minority voters; and enforcing federal statutes against discrimination based on Sexual orientation and Gender identity, which has involved conflicts with state laws like Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law and Texas's policies on Transgender youth healthcare. The politicization of the office itself is a recurring controversy, with accusations that some Attorneys General have undermined the department's independence by acting as a political operative for the President rather than the nation's chief legal officer, a criticism leveled at Attorneys General like William Barr and Jeff Sessions.

Notable Attorneys General and Their Civil Rights Legacies

The civil rights legacy of the office is best understood through the actions of its most consequential occupants. Robert F. Kennedy is revered as a transformative figure who, despite initial hesitance, became a committed advocate, using the power of the office to protect activists and challenge Jim Crow laws. His successor, Nicholas Katzenbach, oversaw the implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Janet Reno (1993–2000), the first woman to hold the position, oversaw the passage of the Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which included the Violence Against Women Act, and advocated for community-oriented|community-oriented policing. Eric Holder, the first African American to serve as a permanent Attorney General, prioritized combating racial disparities in the criminal justice system, challenging voter suppression, and advancing LGBTQ+ rights. Their tenures, along with the more conservative agendas of officials like Edwin Meese and Jeff Sessions, illustrate the profound and often contradictory impact the Attorney General can have on the nation's ongoing struggle for civil rights.