"The Position of Attorney General" By: Ben Spencer

The position of Attorney General in Virginia is one that dates back to the early 1600s in the Colony of Virginia.  Up until the late 1700s, Attorney Generals in the Colony of Virginia were appointed by the King, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or the Deputy Governor.  There was no set term lengths during this time, and most Attorney Generals only left office after resigning or dying.  Attorney Generals began serving the Commonwealth of Virginia after 1776.  Including the current Attorney General, Mark Herring, 47 Virginians have held the position of Attorney General.  Currently, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Attorney Generals are elected to four year terms with no restrictions on how many terms he or she can can serve. (The Hornbook of Virginia History)

The purpose of the Attorney General is to provide legal services to all state agencies, state institutions, and state Universities in Virginia.  The Attorney General is also expected to defend the interest of the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as its government. The current Attorney General in Virginia, Mark Herring, has made numerous landmark decisions on many different political fronts.  Most notably, Herring went against a ban on same-sex marriage enforced by Virginia.  Herring deemed the law as unconstitutional and sided with the people of Virginia by defending their constitutional rights.  Herring emphasized that “the law here is unconstitutional, and I think the Supreme Court … would find the law unconstitutional”  (Hirsh).

Attorney General is an important position at Model General Assembly.  Current Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, was formerly elected at MGA to serve as Attorney General. Current MGA Attorney General, Remy Butts, is held to the same standard as current Virginia Attorney General, Mark Herring.  Remy is a Senior from Kenston-Forest School who hopes to make a difference at MGA.  Remy talked for a few moments on how he got interested in running for the position by stating that “My advisor introduced the position to me.  He thought it would be a good fit because I come from a law background with my dad.  Then, I looked into it, and the more and more I looked into it, the more interested I got.”  Remy also elaborated on how important the position of Attorney General is at MGA by proclaiming tha, “I think it’s very important.  Without it, people would just be talking about their own opinions on all the bills all the time.  You would not have the constitutionality for each bill.  I think that’s the most important role of Attorney General.”  When asked about any unconstitutional bills, Remy explained that, “There’s probably like four this year.  One is about media who do not comply to send out an amber alert.  They could be subject to a misdemeanor.  That would infringe on freedom of the press.  So there are bills like that that I advise the Youth Governor on.”

Sources:

The Hornbook of Virginia History. "Attorneys General of Virginia." Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 21 Feb. 2018, encyclopediavirginia.org.

Hirsh, Michael, et al. “Herring Explains Gay Marriage Shift.” POLITICO, 23 Jan. 2014, www.politico.com.