Attorney General for the District of Columbia
Chief legal officer of Washington, D.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Attorney General for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. The position has been elected by popular vote of D.C. residents since 2015. The current attorney general is Brian Schwalb, who has served since January 2, 2023.
Karl Racine (elected)
| Attorney General of the District of Columbia | |
|---|---|
Seal of the Office of the Attorney General | |
| Term length | Four years, renewable |
| Inaugural holder | Richard Wallach (predecessor role, appointed) Karl Racine (elected) |
| Formation | 1973 |
| Website | Office of the Attorney General |
Due to D.C.'s unique status as a federal enclave and not part of a state, the attorney general's position is unique, and shares some similarities with other states' attorneys general, some with local prosecutors and some with municipal legal departments.
The attorney general enforces many of the district's laws, provides advice and counsel the local government and departments, and assists consumers and others in the district.[1] He is responsible for prosecuting juvenile criminal law and some misdemeanor crimes for adults, but adult felonies and other prosecutions are handled by the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, a federal Department of Justice official who is appointed by and reports to the president.[2]
History
From Congress's creation of Washington, D.C.'s municipal government in 1802 until 1824, it did not have a city attorney position. Various local attorneys were retained for particular matters, including Francis Scott Key, best known as the author of the text of "The Star-Spangled Banner", who was paid $60 in 1820 for legal services.[3]
In 1824, the elected city council created the early precursor to the attorney general, then called the City Attorney, for Washington, which was at the time a separate city from Georgetown and the rest of the district. Richard Wallach was the first city attorney, serving from July 1, 1824, to June 30, 1830, and paid $100 per year. The position was appointed by the mayor, who was at the time appointed by the president of the United States. When the city's charter was reorganized by Congress into a unified District in 1871, the position was renamed to Attorney for the District of Columbia and appointed by the governor and later the Board of Commissioners. It was briefly renamed City Solicitor in 1901, but became Corporation Counsel the next year.[3]
The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 by Congress brought the district a democratically elected mayor. The chief legal officer was still the corporation counsel, but the mayor was given the power to appoint them.[4]
On May 26, 2004, Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed an executive order that changed the name of the office to Attorney General without making any substantive changes to its responsibilities or functions.[5]
Elected position
In the November 2, 2010, general election, voters approved Charter Amendment IV that made the office of Attorney General an elected position.
Election delays
In July 2012,[8] the District of Columbia council voted to postpone the election of attorney general to 2018, citing a dispute over how much power the elected attorney general would have. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson called the vote "an embarrassment."[8]
In September 2013, Paul Zukerberg filed suit against the District of Columbia Council and the city elections claiming any delay would violate the District charter — which was amended through the 2010 ballot question to provide for the election of the city’s top lawyer.[8] Attorney General Irv Nathan initially argued that Zukerberg was not suffering any “meaningful hardship” from pushing back the election.[9]
On February 7, 2014, a District of Columbia Superior Court judge ruled that ballots for the April 1 primary could be printed without the Attorney General race.[10] Zukerberg appealed the ruling, declaring himself a candidate and arguing that he would suffer "irreparable harm" if the election were postponed.[11][12]
On June 4, 2014, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision. The Court held "that the Superior Court's interpretation was incorrect as a matter of law" and reversed. The Court ruled that the original language in the Elected Attorney General Act is ambiguous in stating the election "shall be after January 1, 2014," and that the attorney general referendum ratified by a majority of District of Columbia voters in 2010 made it seem as though the election would take place in 2014.[13] On June 13, Zukerberg collected nominating petitions.[14]
2014 election
Joining Zukerberg as candidates for the position were insurance litigator and activist Lorie Masters, federal lawyer Edward "Smitty" Smith, white-collar attorney Karl Racine, and legislative policy analyst Lateefah Williams.[9][15][16][17] Racine secured a plurality victory, winning 36% of the votes cast, and was sworn in as the first elected Attorney General in January 2015.[18][19][20]
Later history
In 2025, following the deployment of federal forces in D.C. by President Donald Trump, Republicans in Congress advanced legislation that would remove the elected attorney general and replace the position with one appointed by the president.[21]
List of officeholders
In 1824, the position of City Attorney was established by resolution of the City Council. When the District of Columbia took on the territorial form of government on July 1, 1871, the position of Attorney for the District of Columbia was established by the First Legislative Assembly.[3] In 1901, the position title was changed to City Solicitor, and in 1902, the title was changed to Corporation Counsel, which it remained until 2004. In 2004, the office's name was changed to Attorney General by Mayor's Order 2004-92, May 26.[22]
City attorneys (1824-1871)
| Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Wallach | July 1, 1824 | June 30, 1830 |
| Richard S. Cox | July 1, 1830 | June 30, 1834 |
| Joseph H. Bradley | July 1, 1834 | June 30, 1850 |
| James M. Carlyle | July 1, 1850 | June 30, 1854 |
| James H. Bradley | July 1, 1854 | June 30, 1856 |
| James M. Carlyle | July 1, 1856 | June 30, 1862 |
| Joseph H. Bradley | July 1, 1862 | June 30, 1867 |
| Joseph H. Bradley, Jr. | July 1, 1867 | June 30, 1868 |
| William A. Cook | July 1, 1868 | June 30, 1870 |
| Enoch Totten | July 1, 1870 | May 31, 1871 |
Appointed before Home Rule
| Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President(s) of the Board | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William A. Cook | July 2, 1871 | July 2, 1874 | William Dennison Jr. (de facto) | ||
_(3x4a).jpg) |
Edwin L. Stanton | July 3, 1874 | October 31, 1876 | ||
 |
William Birney | November 1, 1876 | October 31, 1877 | ||
| Alfred G. Riddle | November 1, 1877 | November 30, 1889 | William Dennison Jr. (de facto) Seth Ledyard Phelps Josiah Dent J. R. West James Barker Edmonds William Benning Webb John Watkinson Douglass | ||
.jpg) |
George C. Hazelton | 1889 | 1893 | John Watkinson Douglass | |
| Sidney J. Thomas | 1893 | 1899 | John Wesley Ross John Brewer Wright | ||
| Andrew B. Duvall[23][24] | 1899 | September 12, 1905 | John Brewer Wright Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland | ||
| Edward H. Thomas[25] | 1905 | 1913 | Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland Cuno Hugo Rudolph | ||
| Conrad H. Syme[26] | 1913 | 1920 | Oliver Peck Newman Louis Brownlow | ||
 |
Francis H. Stephens[3] | 1920 | 1927 | ||
| William W. Bride | 1927 | 1934 | Proctor L. Dougherty Luther Halsey Reichelderfer Melvin Colvin Hazen | ||
 |
E. Barrett Prettyman | 1934 | 1936 | Melvin Colvin Hazen | |
| Elwood H. Seal | 1936 | 1940 | |||
| Richmond B. Keech | 1940 | 1945 | |||
| Vernon West[3] | 1945 | ||||
| Chester H. Gray | 1956 | 1965 | Robert E. McLaughlin Walter Nathan Tobriner | ||
| Charles T. Duncan[27][28] | 1966 | 1970 | Walter Nathan Tobriner | ||
| C. Francis Murphy | 1970 | 1976 | Walter Washington | ||
Appointed after Home Rule
| No. | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | Mayor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. Francis Murphy[29] | 1970[30] | 1976[30] | Walter Washington | ||
| 2 | John R. Risher[31] | 1976[30] | June 1978[32][30] | |||
| Acting | Louis P. Robbins[32] | June 1978[30] | April 12, 1979[30] | Walter Washington Marion Barry | ||
| 3 |  |
Judith W. Rogers[33] | April 12, 1979[32][30] | September 15, 1983[30] | Marion Barry | |
| 4 | Inez Smith Reid | September 15, 1983[30] | July 8, 1986[30] | |||
| Acting | John H. Suda | July 8, 1986[30] | 1986[30] | |||
| Acting | James R. Murphy | 1986[30] | 1987[30] | |||
| 5 | Frederick D. Cooke Jr.[34] | 1987 | 1990 | |||
| Acting | Herbert O. Reid Sr. | 1990[30] | 1991[30] | |||
| Acting | Beverly J. Burke | 1991[30] | 1991[30] | Marion Barry Sharon Pratt Kelly | ||
| 6 | John Payton | 1991 | 1994 | Sharon Pratt Kelly | ||
| 7 | .jpg) |
Vanessa Ruiz | 1994 | October 7, 1994 | ||
| Acting | Erias Hyman | October 7, 1994[30] | 1995[30] | |||
| Interim | Garland Pinkston | 1995[30] | August 1995[30] | Marion Barry | ||
| 8 | .jpg) |
Charles Ruff | August 1995 | February 1997 | ||
| Interim | Jo Anne Robinson | February 1997[30] | September 24, 1997[30] | |||
| 9 | John M. Ferren[35] | September 24, 1997[36] | April 19, 1999 | Marion Barry Anthony A. Williams | ||
| Interim | Jo Anne Robinson | April 19, 1999[30] | 1999[30] | Anthony A. Williams | ||
| 10 | Robert Rigsby | 1999[30] | 2002[30] | |||
| Interim | Arabella W. Teal[37] | 2002[30] | 2003[30] | |||
| 11 |  |
Robert Spagnoletti | 2003[30] | 2006[30] | ||
| Interim | Eugene Adams | 2006[38] | December 31, 2006[38] | |||
| 12 | Linda Singer | January 2, 2007[30] | January 5, 2008[30] | Adrian Fenty[30] | ||
| 13 | Peter Nickles[39] | January 6, 2008[40][30] | January 2011 | |||
| 14 |  |
Irvin B. Nathan | January 2011[30] | November 17, 2014[30] | Vincent C. Gray | |
Elected
| No. | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | Mayor(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | .jpg) |
Karl Racine | January 2, 2015 | January 2, 2023 | Muriel Bowser | |
| 16 | .jpg) |
Brian Schwalb | January 2, 2023 | present | ||