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Attorney General of the District of Columbia
Seal of the Office of the Attorney General
Incumbent Brian Schwalb since January 2, 2023
Term length	Four years, renewable
Formation	1973
Website	Office of the Attorney General

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The attorney general for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that made the office an elected position beginning in 2015. The current Attorney General is Brian Schwalb, who has served since January 2, 2023.

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.

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.

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 him or her.

On May 26, 2003, 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.

Elected position

In the November 2, 2010, general election, voters approved Charter Amendment IV that made the office of Attorney General an elected position.

Charter Amendment IV

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	90,316	75.78
No	28,868	24.22
Total votes	119,184	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	453,014	26.30

Election delays

In July 2012, 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."

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. Attorney General Irv Nathan initially argued that Zukerberg was not suffering any “meaningful hardship” from pushing back the election.

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. Zukerberg appealed the ruling, declaring himself a candidate and arguing that he would suffer "irreparable harm" if the election were postponed.

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. On June 13, Zukerberg collected nominating petitions.

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. Racine secured a plurality victory, winning 36% of the votes cast, and was sworn in as the first elected Attorney General in January 2015.

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. 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 from Corporation Counsel to Attorney General by Mayor's Order 2004-92, May 26, making Robert Spagnoletti the only person to hold both titles.

City attorneys (1824-1871)

Appointed before Home Rule

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2019)

Image	Name	Took office	Left office	President(s) of the Board
	William A. Cook	July 2, 1871	July 2, 1874
	Edward 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
	George C. Hazelton	1889	1893	John Watkinson Douglass
	Sidney J. Thomas	1893	1899	John Wesley Ross; John Brewer Wright
	Andrew B. Duvall	1899	September 12, 1905	John Brewer Wright; Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland
	Edward H. Thomas	1905	1913	Henry Brown Floyd MacFarland; Cuno Hugo Rudolph
	Conrad H. Syme	1913	1920	Oliver Peck Newman; Louis Brownlow
	Francis H. Stephens	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	1945
	Chester H. Gray	1956	1965	Robert E. McLaughlin, Walter Nathan Tobriner
	Charles T. Duncan	1966	1970	Walter Nathan Tobriner
	C. Francis Murphy	1970	1976	Mayor-Commissioner Walter Washington

Appointed after Home Rule

No.	Image	Name	Took office	Left office	Mayor(s)
1		C. Francis Murphy	1970	1976	Walter Washington
2		John R. Risher	1976	June 1978
Acting		Louis P. Robbins	June 1978	April 12, 1979	Walter Washington; Marion Barry
3		Judith W. Rogers	April 12, 1979	September 15, 1983	Marion Barry
4		Inez Smith Reid	September 15, 1983	July 8, 1986
Acting		John H. Suda	July 8, 1986	1986
Acting		James R. Murphy	1986	1987
5		Frederick D. Cooke Jr.	1987	1990
Acting		Herbert O. Reid Sr.	1990	1991
Acting		Beverly J. Burke	1991	1991	Marion Barry; Sharon Pratt Kelly
6		John Payton	1991	1994	Sharon Pratt Kelly
7		Vanessa Ruiz	1994	October 7, 1994
Acting		Erias Hyman	October 7, 1994	1995
Interim		Garland Pinkston	1995	August 1995	Marion Barry
8		Charles Ruff	August 1995	February 1997
Interim		Jo Anne Robinson	February 1997	September 24, 1997
9		John M. Ferren	September 24, 1997	April 19, 1999	Marion Barry; Anthony A. Williams
Interim		Jo Anne Robinson	April 19, 1999	1999	Anthony A. Williams
10		Robert Rigsby	1999	2002
Interim		Arabella W. Teal	2002	2003
11		Robert Spagnoletti	2003	2006
Interim		Eugene Adams	2006	December 31, 2006
12		Linda Singer	January 2, 2007	January 5, 2008	Adrian Fenty
13		Peter Nickles	January 6, 2008	January 2011
14		Irvin B. Nathan	January 2011	November 17, 2014	Vincent C. Gray

Elected

No.	Image	Name	Took office	Left office	Mayor(s)
15		Karl Racine	January 2, 2015	January 2, 2023	Muriel Bowser
16		Brian Schwalb	January 2, 2023	present

See also

• Solicitor General of the District of Columbia

References

1. ^ West, Vernon E. (1946). "History and Functions of the Office of the Corporation Counsel". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 48/49: 113–126. ISSN 0897-9049. JSTOR 40064088.
2. Meyer, Eugene L. (March 3, 1976). "Ex-Prosecutor, 36, Slated To Be Corporation Counsel". The Washington Post.
3. "METRO; In Brief". The Washington Post. May 27, 2003.
4. "General Election 2010". District of Columbia Board of Elections. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
5. "The Elected Attorney General Charter Amendment" (PDF). District of Columbia Board of Elections. August 13, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
6. ^ "District of Columbia Council delays first election of attorney general". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
7. ^ "Attorney Paul Zukerberg Suing District of Columbia Council Over Timing of Attorney General Election". Washingtonian.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
8. "District of Columbia Judge: AG Race Won't Be on April 1 Ballot". CBS. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
9. "Paul Zukerberg Appeals Attorney General Election Decision". dcist.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
10. Matt Cohen (February 7, 2014). "There Will Not Be An Attorney General Election This April". DCist. Archived from the original on March 10, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
11. Matt Cohen (June 4, 2014). "Court Rules City Must Hold Attorney General Election This Year (UPDATE)". DCist. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
12. Matt Cohen and Sarah Anne Hughes (June 13, 2014). "Board Of Elections Hands Over Ballot Petitions For An Elected Attorney General". DCist. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
13. Mike DeBonis (July 16, 2014). "Lorie Masters seeks D.C. attorney general post in November election". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
14. Mike DeBonis (July 7, 2014). "Edward 'Smitty' Smith, former federal lawyer, joins D.C. attorney general race". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
15. Jennifer van der Kleut (July 16, 2014). "D.C. attorney general race: One candidate drops out, four new ones jump in". ABC7 WJLA. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
16. "DC Board of Elections and Ethics: Election Results". Archived from the original on December 20, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
17. "D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine takes sides in Obama immigration fight". Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
18. "Karl Racine wins first-ever race for D.C. attorney general". Washington Post. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
19. "D.C. Law Library - § 1–301.111. Duties of the Corporation Counsel. [Repealed]". code.dccouncil.us. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
20. Richard A. Ford, ed. (1905). "The Daily Washington Law Reporter". 33: 577. Retrieved March 24, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
21. "Eminent and Representative Men of Virginia and the District of Columbia in the Nineteenth Century: With a Concise Historical Sketch of Virginia". Brant & Fuller. 1893: 103. Retrieved March 24, 2017. andrew b duvall district. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
22. District of Columbia. Board of Commissioners (1905). "Annual Report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia". 4: 34. Retrieved March 24, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
23. J. R. Cole (1917). "History of Greenbrier County": 166–171. Retrieved March 24, 2017. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
24. West, Vernon E. (1946). "History and Functions of the Office of the Corporation Counsel". Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 48/49: 113–126. ISSN 0897-9049. JSTOR 40064088.
25. Adam Bernstein (May 7, 2004). "D.C. Lawyer, Educator Charles Duncan Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
26. "Legends in the Law: Charles T. Duncan". Bar Report. June–July 1996. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
27. "C. Francis Murphy Dies". The Washington Post. July 30, 1993. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
28. ^ "District of Columbia Former Attorneys General". National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Retrieved April 30, 2018.
29. Richard Pearson (February 22, 1999). "JOHN RISHER, FORMER D.C. CORPORATION COUNSEL, DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
30. ^ Milton Coleman (April 12, 1979). "Barry Appoints Corporation Counsel". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
31. "Official Biography at District of Columbia Circuit". Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
32. Biography at Rubin, Winston, Diercks, Harris & Cooke, L.L.P.
33. "Biography at District of Columbia Court of Appeals" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
34. "District of Columbia Bar interview". Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
35. Press Release Archived April 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine from Teal's time as Corporation Counsel
36. ^ December 8, 2006 Opinion of the Attorney General
37. "Former D.C Attorney General Peter Nickles returns to law firm". Washington Business Journal. American City Business Journals. January 6, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
38. David Nakamura (October 18, 2008). "D.C. Drafts Suit Against Bank for Tax-Scam Cash". The Washington Post. p. 2. Retrieved April 26, 2016. (Nickles began his tenure as Acting Attorney General.)

External links

• District of Columbia Attorney General official website
• Search for articles at ABA Journal
• News and Commentary at FindLaw
• District of Columbia Code at Law.Justia.com
• U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: District of Columbia" at FindLaw
• District of Columbia Bar
• District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine profile at National Association of Attorneys General
• Press releases at District of Columbia Attorney General

• Attorneys general for the District of Columbia
• 1973 establishments in Washington, D.C.