The criminal jurisdiction of state attorneys general varies from state to state. This chapter focuses on the challenges that arise under this unique system of criminal justice.

Although law school teaching on criminal law almost exclusively focuses on federal law, the reality is that 90% of all criminal prosecutions take place in state court and all but three states (DE, RI, and AK) have both Attorneys General and District Attorneys. While the policies differ in detail from state to state, the long-standing practice of two levels of state criminal prosecution is based on sound public policy and generally operates seamlessly.

The divided responsibilities between attorneys general and district attorneys are meant to be complementary. The DA's handle the vast majority of cases and the AG's take those matters where there are legal conflicts (the DA or his/her staff has a personal relationship with a party, the judge, or a witness) or involve specific subject matter issues. (Medicaid Fraud, major crime in a rural area, white-collar crime, all homicides in some states, and increasingly, allegations of police brutality.). This structure is designed to allow the public to have greater confidence in the final result. It is not that the lawyers for the attorney general are "better" than the lawyers for the district attorney, but rather it is that AG offices often have resources that allow the development of expertise in areas that rarely come before a DA.

For an analysis description of how the criminal jurisdiction relates to the rest of the office of attorney general, see Chapter 2 (2-5, 2-6-2-10 and 2-11).

For a video introduction to this Chapter see: James Tierney - AG's and Crim Law - Lecture, Harvard Law School, March 21, 2020 (YouTube)

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