Attorney General

Coffman graduated from the University of Missouri and received her law degree from the Georgia State University College of Law. She began working in the office of the Georgia Attorney General in 1993. In 1996, she became a lawyer for the 1996 Summer Olympics, held in Atlanta. Following the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Coffman served as a liaison to the families of the victims.^[1]

Coffman moved to Colorado in 1997, and worked for the legislative council of the Colorado Legislature.^[1] She served as legalcounsel for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from 1999 through 2004. She then served as legal counsel for Bill Owens, the Governor of Colorado, from 2004 to 2005, and as chief deputy attorney general under John Suthers, the Attorney General of Colorado from 2004 through 2014.^[2] In 2012, Law Week Colorado named Coffman their Best Public Sector Lawye

Suthers was born in Denver, Colorado and adopted a month later by William and Marguerite Suthers, a Colorado Springs couple. His father died when Suthers was 15, and his mother died when he was 23.

He attended St. Mary's High School in Colorado Springs, and the University of Notre Dame, from which he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in government in 1974. Suthers graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1977. He attended college and law school on academic scholarships.

Michael Coffman was born on March 19, 1955 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to Harold and Dorothy Coffman, and is one of five children. His father served in the United States Army at Fort Leonard Wood, and after 1964, at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center inAurora, Colorado.

In 1972, Coffman enlisted in the U.S. Army, and was assigned to a mechanized infantry battalion. The following year, he earned a high school diploma through an army program. Leaving active duty for the U.S. Army Reserve in 1974, he entered the University of Colorado, under the G.I. Bill graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in political science.^[1][2] He also studied at Vaishnav Collegein Chennai, India, and the University of Veracruz in Mexico for a year. Upon graduation from the University of Colorado, Coffman transferred from the Army Reserve to the United States Marine Corps in 1979, becoming an infantry officer. In 1983, he transferred from active duty to the Marine Reserves, serving until 1994. In 1983, he created an Aurora, Colorado-based property managementfirm, serving as senior shareholder until 2000.

The Office of the Attorney General was first established by executive ordinance of the Republic of Texas government in 1836. The attorneys general of the Republic of Texas and the first four attorneys general under the 1845 state constitution were appointed by the governor. The office was made elective in 1850 by constitutional amendment.

The Attorney General is elected to a four-year term. In 2013, former Attorney General Greg Abbott announced he would not seek reelection and would run for Governor. In November 2014, he was elected as the Governor of Texas. Ken Paxton defeated former House Representative Dan Branch in the Republican primary by a 26% margin and was elected easily in the general election as the 50th Attorney General of Texas,^[3] (there is a historical dispute whether he is the 50th or 51st Attorney General).^[4] Ken Paxton was sworn in on January 5, 2015 in the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol. Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, United States Senator Ted Cruz, Lieutenant Governor-Elect Dan Patrick and Supreme Court Justice Don Willett all participated in the swearing-in ceremony

The United States Attorney General (A.G.) is the head of the United States Department of Justice per 28 U.S.C. § 503, concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer and chief lawyer of the United States government. The attorney general serves as a member of the president's cabinet, and is the only cabinet officer who does not have the title of secretary.

The Attorney General is appointed by the President of the United States and takes office after confirmation by the United States Senate. He or she serves at the pleasure of the president and can be removed by the president at any time; the attorney general is also subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives and trial in the Senate for "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors."

The office of Attorney General was established by Congress by the Judiciary Act of 1789. The original duties of this officer were "to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the president of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments."^[1] Only in 1870 was the Department of Justice established to support the attorney general in the discharge of their responsibilities. The Attorney General, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Defense are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet officials because of the importance of their departments.^[2]

The current Attorney General, Loretta Lynch was nominated by President Obama after serving as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 23, 2015 and sworn in by Vice President Biden on April 27, 2015.

The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those of the United States Department of Justice.

The current party composition of the state Attorneys General are:

The composition for territories and districts are:

The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. The incumbent Colorado Attorney General is Cynthia Coffman, who was elected in November, 2014, to a four-year term that began on January 13, 2015.

The Department of Law has seven sections: Appellate, Natural Resources and Environmental, Consumer Protection, State Services,Civil Litigation and Employment Law, Criminal Justice, Revenue & Utilities, and Business & Licensing.