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Solicitor general

{{short description|Legal position in common law countries}}

{{More citations needed|date=July 2019}}

A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general is often the second-ranked law officer of the state and a deputy of the attorney general. The extent to which a solicitor general actually provides legal advice to or represents the government in court varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and sometimes varies between individual office holders in the same jurisdiction.

List

Solicitors General include the following:

=Australia=

=Canada=

The role of Solicitor General existed at both the federal and provincial levels throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. However, within recent decades it has been renamed or merged into another ministry in most jurisdictions.

=United Kingdom=

=United States=

  • Solicitor General of the United States, the federal government's primary advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court
  • In U.S. state governments, the Solicitor General is usually a high-level legal official who argues in court — often in the U.S. Supreme Court or in the federal United States courts of appeals — on behalf of the State, its executives and officials, and its legislature. The position of state solicitor general appeared in the late 20th century, and not all states have a solicitor general. State Solicitors General include, among others
  • Solicitor General of Alabama, the top appellate advocate in the State of Alabama.{{Cite web|url=https://ago.alabama.gov/Divisions|title=Office of The Attorney General - ALABAMA|website=ago.alabama.gov|access-date=2019-02-15|archive-date=2019-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216035244/https://ago.alabama.gov/Divisions|url-status=live}}
  • Solicitor General of Florida, the top appellate advocate for the State of Florida{{Cite web |title=Florida Attorney General - Solicitor General |url=http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/D0B34FAEB8C543B285256CC60079E42A |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=myfloridalegal.com |archive-date=2023-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131205114/http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/D0B34FAEB8C543B285256CC60079E42A |url-status=live }}
  • Solicitor General of Hawaii, the top appellate advocate in the State of Hawaii
  • Solicitor General of Louisiana, the top appellate advocate in the State of Louisiana
  • Solicitor General of Michigan, the top appellate advocate for the State of Michigan
  • Solicitor General of Missouri, the top appellate advocate for the State of Missouri.
  • Solicitor General of New Jersey, the top appellate advocate in the State of New Jersey
  • Solicitor General of New York, the top appellate advocate in the State of New York
  • Solicitor General of Ohio, the top appellate advocate in the State of Ohio
  • Solicitor General of Texas, the top appellate advocate in the State of Texas
  • Solicitor General of Vermont, the top appellate advocate in the State of Vermont{{cite news |title=Bridget Asay appointed solicitor general of Vermont |url=https://vtdigger.org/2015/04/19/bridget-asay-appointed-solicitor-general-of-vermont/ |work=VTDigger |date=19 April 2015}}
  • Solicitor General of Washington, the top appellate advocate in the State of Washington.{{Cite web|url=https://www.atg.wa.gov/solicitor-generals-office|title=Solicitor General's Office {{!}} Washington State|website=www.atg.wa.gov|access-date=2019-02-15|archive-date=2019-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222222621/http://www.atg.wa.gov/solicitor-generals-office|url-status=live}}
  • Solicitor General of West Virginia, the top appellate advocate in the State of West Virginia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wvnstv.com/west-virginia-news/lindsay-s-see-appointed-as-west-virginia-s-new-solicitor-general/1219495951|title=Lindsay S. See appointed as West Virginia's new solicitor general|date=2018-06-05|website=WVNS|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-15}}
  • Though not a state, the District of Columbia also has an Office of the Solicitor General.{{Cite web|url=https://oag.dc.gov/about-office-solicitor-general|title=About the Office of the Solicitor General {{!}} Attorney General Karl A. Racine|website=oag.dc.gov|access-date=2019-02-15|archive-date=2019-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215215825/https://oag.dc.gov/about-office-solicitor-general|url-status=live}}
  • Georgia also has county solicitors general who prosecute misdemeanors in that county.{{Cite web |title=Solicitor-General, State Court |url=https://www.douglascountyga.gov/230/Solicitor-General-State-Court |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Douglas County, Georgia |archive-date=2024-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220063411/https://www.douglascountyga.gov/230/Solicitor-General-State-Court |url-status=live }}

=Other countries=

See also

  • Attorney general, the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions the attorney general may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions
  • Justice of the peace, sometimes used with the same meaning
  • Law officers of the Crown, the chief legal advisers to the Crown, and advise and represent the various governments in the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth Realms
  • Solicitor, a lawyer who traditionally deals with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in court
  • Solicitor (South Carolina), a state elected position equivalent to a district attorney in many other states

References

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Category:Legal professions