Attorney General of Wisconsin

The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, a Democrat.[2][3][4]

Attorney General of Wisconsin
Seal of the Attorney General of Wisconsin
Incumbent
Josh Kaul
since January 7, 2019
Wisconsin Department of Justice
Style
SeatWisconsin State Capitol
Madison, Wisconsin
AppointerGeneral election
Term lengthFour years, no term limits
Constituting instrumentWisconsin Constitution of 1848, Article VI
Inaugural holderJames S. Brown
FormationJune 7, 1848 (June 7, 1848)
Salary$148,242[1]
WebsiteOfficial page
Official twitter

Election and term of office

The Attorney General is elected on Election Day in November, and takes office on the first Monday of the next January.[5] There is no limit to the number of terms an Attorney General may hold. From 1848 to 1968, the Attorney General was elected to a two-year term in the November general election. Since 1970, following ratification of a constitutional amendment in April 1967, the Attorney General has been elected to a four-year term.

In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Attorney General, the Governor of Wisconsin may appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of the term. The Attorney General may be removed from office through an impeachment trial.[6] They may also choose to resign from office.

Powers and duties

The Attorney General is the chief law officer of the state of Wisconsin, and amongst other duties has charge and conduct for the state of all suits instituted for and against the government thereof, certifies all bonds issued by the state, protects the School Trust Funds managed by the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, and provides written opinions on questions of law to either house of the Wisconsin Legislature or the head of any state agency.[7][8] By virtue of office, the Attorney General directs and supervises the Wisconsin Department of Justice.[9] In accordance with Article X, Section 7 of the Wisconsin State Constitution, the Attorney General is a member of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands; the same is also a member of, or designates members to, the Claims Board, Crime Victims Rights Board, Group Insurance Board, Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions, Judicial Council, Law Enforcement Standards Board, Public Records Board, and the Board of Directors of the Insurance Security Fund.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

List of Attorneys General of Wisconsin

This is a list of attorneys general for Wisconsin, from before statehood to present.

Number of Attorneys General of Wisconsin by party affiliation
Party Attorneys
Republican 28
Democratic 16
Progressive 1

Attorneys General of the Wisconsin Territory

Before statehood, the Wisconsin Territory also had several attorneys general appointed by the governor of the territory.[18]

Name Took office Left office Territorial governor
Henry S. Baird 1836 1839 Henry Dodge
Horatio N. Wells 1839 1841 Henry Dodge
Mortimer M. Jackson 1842 1844 James Doty
William Pitt Lynde 1844 1845 Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
Mortimer M. Jackson 1845 1846 Henry Dodge
A. Hyatt Smith 1846 1848

Attorneys General of the State of Wisconsin

  Democratic   Republican   Progressive

# Name Party Took office Left office
1 James S. Brown
(1824-1878) 		Democratic June 7, 1848[19] January 7, 1850
2 S. Park Coon
(1820-1883)		 Democratic January 7, 1850[19] January 5, 1852
3 Experience Estabrook
(1813-1894)		 Democratic January 5, 1852[19] January 2, 1854
4 George Baldwin Smith
(1823-1879)		 Democratic January 2, 1854[19] January 7, 1856
5 William Rudolph Smith
(1787-1868)		 Democratic January 7, 1856[19] January 4, 1858
6 Gabriel Bouck
(1828-1904)		 Democratic January 4, 1858[19] January 2, 1860
7 James Henry Howe[note 1]
(1827-1893)		 Republican January 2, 1860[19] October 7, 1862[19][20]
8 Winfield Smith[note 2]
(1827-1899)		 Republican October 7, 1862[19] January 1, 1866
9 Charles R. Gill
(1830-1883)		 Republican January 1, 1866[19] January 3, 1870
10 Stephen Steele Barlow
(1818-1900)		 Republican January 3, 1870[19] January 5, 1874
11 A. Scott Sloan
(1820-1895)		 Republican January 5, 1874[19] January 7, 1878
12 Alexander Wilson
(1833-1888)		 Republican January 7, 1878[19] January 2, 1882
13 Leander F. Frisby[note 3]
(1825-1889)		 Republican January 2, 1882[19] January 3, 1887
14 Charles E. Estabrook
(1847-1918)		 Republican January 3, 1887[19] January 5, 1891
15 James L. O'Connor
(1858-1931)		 Democratic January 5, 1891[19] January 7, 1895
16 William H. Mylrea
(1853-1916)		 Republican January 7, 1895[19] January 2, 1899
17 Emmett R. Hicks
(1854-1925)		 Republican January 2, 1899[19] January 5, 1903
18 Lafayette M. Sturdevant
(1856-1923)		 Republican January 5, 1903[19] January 7, 1907
19 Frank L. Gilbert
(1864-1930)		 Republican January 7, 1907[19] January 2, 1911
20 Levi H. Bancroft
(1861-1948)		 Republican January 2, 1911[19] January 6, 1913
21 Walter C. Owen[note 1]
(1868-1934)		 Republican January 6, 1913[19] January 7, 1918[19]
22 Spencer Haven[note 2]
(1868-1938)		 Republican January 7, 1918[19] January 6, 1919
23 John J. Blaine
(1875-1934)		 Republican January 6, 1919[19] January 3, 1921
24 William J. Morgan
(1883-1983)		 Republican January 3, 1921[19] January 1, 1923
25 Herman L. Ekern
(1872-1954)		 Republican January 1, 1923[19] January 3, 1927
26 John W. Reynolds, Sr.
(1876-1958)		 Republican January 3, 1927[19] January 2, 1933
27 James E. Finnegan
(1892-1966)		 Democratic January 2, 1933[21] January 4, 1937
28 Orland Steen Loomis
(1893-1942)		 Progressive January 4, 1937[22] January 2, 1939
29 John E. Martin[note 1]
(1891-1968)		 Republican January 2, 1939[23] June 1, 1948[20]
vacant June 1, 1948 June 5, 1948
30 Grover L. Broadfoot[note 2][note 1]
(1892-1962)		 Republican June 5, 1948[20] November 12, 1948[20]
31 Thomas E. Fairchild[note 2]
(1912-2007)		 Democratic November 12, 1948[20] January 1, 1951
32 Vernon W. Thomson
(1905-1988)		 Republican January 1, 1951[24] January 7, 1957
33 Stewart G. Honeck
(1906-1999)		 Republican January 7, 1957[25] January 5, 1959
34 John W. Reynolds, Jr.
(1921-2002)		 Democratic January 5, 1959[26] January 7, 1963
35 George Thompson
(1918-1992)		 Republican January 7, 1963[27] January 4, 1965
36 Bronson La Follette
(1936-2018)		 Democratic January 4, 1965[28] January 6, 1969
37 Robert W. Warren[note 1]
(1925-1998)		 Republican January 6, 1969[29] October 8, 1974[20]
38 Victor A. Miller[note 2][note 1]
(1916-1984)		 Democratic October 8, 1974[20] November 25, 1974[20]
39 Bronson La Follette[note 2]
(1936-2018)		 Democratic November 25, 1974[20] January 5, 1987
40 Don Hanaway
(1933-1995)		 Republican January 5, 1987
 January 7, 1991
41 Jim Doyle
(born 1945)		 Democratic January 7, 1991[30] January 6, 2003
42 Peggy Lautenschlager
(1955-2018)		 Democratic January 6, 2003[31] January 3, 2007
43 J.B. Van Hollen
(born 1966)		 Republican January 3, 2007[32] January 5, 2015
44 Brad Schimel
(born 1965)		 Republican January 5, 2015 January 7, 2019
45 Josh Kaul
(born 1980)		 Democratic January 7, 2019 Incumbent
Notes:
  1. Resigned from office.
  2. Appointed to fill unexpired term.
  3. Some sources record Leander Frisby's surname as "Frisbie".[19]

See also

References

General

Specific
  1. Salaries of Wisconsin State Elected Officials (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 2019. p. 2. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  2. https://www.doj.state.wi.us/professional-profiles
  3. https://www.joshkaul.org/
  4. https://www.wisdems.org/our-party/constitutional-offices
  5. Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.) (2007). "Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article XIII)". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 (PDF). Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved 2008-05-10.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  6. Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.) (2007). "Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article VII)". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 (PDF). Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved 2008-05-10.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  7. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/165/
  8. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2013/related/wiscon/wi/VI/3
  9. https://www.doj.state.wi.us/
  10. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/15/II/255/1/a/6
  11. http://claimsboard.wi.gov/
  12. https://www.wilifega.org/
  13. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/wiscon/_20
  14. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2019/committees/joint/1974
  15. https://etf.wi.gov/about-etf/governing-boards/group-insurance-board
  16. http://wilawlibrary.gov/judicialcouncil/index.htm
  17. https://publicrecordsboard.wi.gov/Pages/home.aspx
  18. Wisconsin Territory Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Anderson, William J. (1929). William A. Anderson (ed.). The Wisconsin blue book, 1929. Madison, Wisconsin: Democrat Printing Company. p. 152. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  20. Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.) (2007). "Chapter 8: Statistical Information on Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2007–2008 (PDF). Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp. 722–724. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2008-05-08.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  21. "Governor Takes Oath Amid Cheers of 5,000" (PDF). Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. January 3, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  22. "New Administrations Started" (PDF). Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. January 4, 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  23. "Gov. Julius P. Heil Takes Office" (PDF). The Sheboygan Press. Sheboygan, Wisconsin. January 2, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  24. "Highlights of Inauguration Ceremony as Five State Republican Officials Take Oaths in Capitol" (PDF). Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. January 2, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  25. "Thomson Takes Oath, Pledges Common Sense" (PDF). Stevens Point Daily Journal. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. January 7, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  26. "Gaylord Nelson Becomes State's 34th Governor" (PDF). Stevens Point Daily Journal. Stevens Point, Wisconsin. January 5, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  27. "Reynolds Calls for Unity At Inaugural Ceremonies" (PDF). Oshkosh Daily Northwestern. Oshkosh, Wisconsin. January 7, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  28. "Knowles Seeks State's Aid in Move Forward" (PDF). Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. January 5, 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  29. "Knowles Stresses Need for Priorities" (PDF). Manitowoc Herald Times. Manitowoc, Wisconsin. January 6, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  30. "Thompson takes oath, praises school choice" (PDF). Ironwood Daily Globe. Ironwood, Michigan. January 8, 1991. p. 7. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  31. "The guard changes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. January 7, 2003. p. 1A. ProQuest 261710319.
  32. "At inauguration, Doyle keeps focus on health care, schools; Legislative leaders make bipartisan pledges after Capitol ceremonies". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. January 4, 2007. p. 1B. ProQuest 263656000.
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