History

Before Ohio Was a State

The earliest reference to an "Attorney General" in Ohio can be found in the government of the Northwest Territory, where the Congressional Act of June 16, 1795 provided for the interests of the Government of the Territory to be represented by an "Attorney General" before the General Court of the Territory. The Act also prescribed fees to be paid to the Attorney General, including 18 cents per sheet, 62 cents for court motions, $5 for criminal cases and $8 for capital cases.

Paul Fearing was appointed to the position of Attorney General in 1799, and he is thought to have held the position until Ohio became a state in 1803. Legislation provided an annual salary of $400 for the Attorney General and between $50 and $125 for his deputies.

There was no provision for an Attorney General in the first Ohio Constitution of 1802. The executive branch is described as having a governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and other civil officers. The only mention of an Attorney General in the document provides that he is not eligible for membership in the General Assembly.

There are several reasons why the framers of the first Ohio Constitution did not feel the need to include an Attorney General. First, Ohio's state government was very decentralized; law enforcement was handled on the county level, and the Ohio Supreme Court appointed each county's prosecuting attorney. Second, cases of state interest were limited and county prosecutors represented the State's interest when necessary. Thirdly, if a situation arose where the State needed additional legal representation, for many years it was cheaper to hire a private attorney than it was to fund another state office.

Early Statehood

The position of Attorney General was created by the Ohio General Assembly on February 16, 1846 as a position elected by the General Assembly and commissioned by the Governor for a five-year term. He had to be Franklin County resident, maintain his office in Columbus, take an oath to support the Constitution, and post a $5,000 bond. He was paid a salary of $750 annually, plus three and one half percent of all monies he collected, up to a total maximum of $1300 a year.

The 1846 act spelled out the Attorney General's responsibilities as follows: He was the legal advisor to the state government; he was to represent the interests of the State, provide legal opinions to state officials, prepare all state contracts, maintain records and prepare an annual report to the General Assembly. He represented the State in all civil or criminal matters before the Ohio Supreme Court and in any court at the request of the Governor or either house of the General Assembly. He was authorized to consult with and advise county prosecuting attorneys and was directed to compile crime statistics as reported to him by the county prosecutors.

Whig attorney Henry Stanbery was the first appointed Ohio Attorney General, and he opened his office in Columbus on April 6, 1846. No record has been found to indicate its location. Much of his first year was spent organizing the new office -- creating a case-tracking system and a uniform crime report format for the county prosecutors -- but in his first report to the General Assembly delivered December 20, 1847, Stanbery reported that he had collected $3,051.07 owed to the State, and had judgments for another $2,849.32. He also noted that providing legal opinions to state officials and county prosecutors took more time than any other of his responsibilities. Stanbery also noted that compiling crime statistics was difficult, as county prosecutors were less than diligent in providing him crime reports, and he had no authority to enforce their compliance.

In 1848 the General Assembly authorized the Attorney General (with assent from the state Auditor) to negotiate with debtors against whom the State had judgments that were two years old. Extensive infrastructure expenditures by the state in the previous 20 years, such as canals, roads, and railroads, had helped Ohio rapidly develop as a state, but also squeezed the state government financially. Ohio was $18 million in debt. Unfortunately, several incidents of embezzlement of state funds accentuated the state's financial pressure. The ability to negotiate with debtors gave the Attorney General the flexibility to collect money the state needed to operate.

In 1849, about mid-way through Stanbery's five-year term, the General Assembly changed the Attorney General to a statewide elective office, effective at the conclusion of Stanbery's term at Attorney General. Since Stanbery's term expired in April of 1851, and the general election was not until November of that year, the Democratic majority in the General Assembly appointed Democrat Joseph McCormick to act as Attorney General from May until the fall election.

A Maturing State

In 1851, the second Ohio Constitution was adopted, the first having served the citizens of the state since it was written in 1802. By 1851, Ohio's population was approaching 2 million, making it the third most populous state in the Union. Both Stanbery and McCormick were delegates to Ohio's Second Constitutional Convention.

The new constitution provided for an executive branch consisting of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General -- all were elected offices with two year terms. The constitution did not outline the duties of the Attorney General other than to require him, along with every other executive officer to submit an annual written report to the Governor five days prior to the regular session of the Ohio General Assembly.

In May 1852, the General Assembly changed the responsibilities of the Attorney General. In addition to the responsibilities of the 1846 act, he was directed to "enforce the performance of trusts for charitable and educational purposes, and restrain the abuse thereof," and to provide legal opinions to a wider circle of state officials. His ability to prosecute persons upon the request of state officers was restricted to "upon the written request of the Governor."

The burdens of the office grew as did the state and its government. In 1865, Attorney General Chauncey Olds reported that he had given 70-80 written opinions (filling 170 handwritten pages) and twice that number orally.

For much of the 19th century the office of Attorney General was a part-time position with little stature or pay. Historical records indicate that the office did not warrant much in the way of staff (until 1900, the staff consisted of the Attorney General and a clerk/secretary), and that the office was moved frequently. In 1901 the office was housed in the Ohio Justice Building (which is today referred to as the Senate Annex), where it stayed until it moved to the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower in 1974.

The Modern Attorney General's Office

In 1902, the Ohio Supreme Court handed down two decisions outlawing certain state laws which had been passed by the General Assembly to benefit local or factional interests. These decisions led to Attorney General Wade Ellis to undertake the task of codifying Ohio law, a process that was completed in 1910 as the Municipal Code of Ohio.

On March 31, 1904, the Ohio General Assembly reorganized the office and established the structure that the office has today. Legal counsel employed by state agencies was congregated into the office of the Attorney General. Provision was made for special counsel, however, and in 1904 the General Assembly appropriated $21,766.40 for special counsel, more than twice the $10,000 appropriated for the office of the Attorney General. The next year, the combined appropriation was only $21,000.

The reorganized Attorney General's office included a First Assistant Attorney General whose primary responsibility was the legal aspects of the office, including representing the Attorney General when he was not available. The Second Assistant Attorney General was the office's business manager. In addition, the Chief Clerk acted as office manager, which included keeping the docket records.

There were ten sections in the 1905 office of Attorney General Wade Ellis:

• Governor and Trustees of State Institutions
• Secretary of State
• State Auditor and State Treasurer
• Public Works, Highways and Agriculture
• General Criminal Business
• Dairy and Food
• Health and Medical
• Insurance
• Common Schools and Universities
• Miscellaneous (including Labor, Mines, Railroads)

In 1910, twelve members of the Ohio General Assembly were indicted and prosecuted on bribery charges after a bi-partisan legislative committee was created to investigate corruption within various departments of Ohio government. Attorney General Timothy Hogan testified before the grand jury in that case, and the legislators were convicted.

Also in 1910, the first library of the Attorney General was created with a budget of $1,000 for furniture, carpet and books.

As the workload and responsibilities of the Attorney General grew, so did the staff, and inevitably, the hours. In 1911, Attorney General Timothy Hogan increased the work hours. They had been 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., but were increased -- the workday was now 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

In 1954, the Attorney General's term was increased from two to four years.