The earliest predecessor to this department was the Dutch colonial office of schout-fiscal, which combined the functions of auditor, sheriff, and attorney general. Later, British colonial authorities appointed an attorney general as chief law enforcement officer of New York.
The first State constitution in 1777 created the office of attorney general, to be selected by the Council of Appointment. The constitution of 1821 transferred this appointment function to the legislature, and the constitution of 1846 made the office elective on a biennial basis. A 1937 constitutional amendment extended the term of elective office to four years.
The constitutional reorganization of State government in 1925 authorized creation of a Department of Law. Enabling legislation in 1926 (Chapter 347) established the department, transferred to it all powers previously exercised by the attorney general, and made the attorney general chief administrative officer of the department.
In 1995, the Department's Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, Statewide Organized Crime Taskforce, and Medicaid Fraud Unit were merged to create a new Criminal Division, thereby enhancing the Department's cooperation with local prosecutors and broadening the scope of its anti-fraud efforts. The Criminal Division, to which was added the Public Integrity Unit, investigates and prosecutes organized criminal activities, Medicaid fraud and nursing home patient abuse, government corruption, and all indictable offenses related to the authority of State agencies.
In addition to the Criminal Division, the Department currently includes a Division of Public Advocacy, which protects the health, financial assets, and civil rights of citizens; Division of State Counsel, which represents the State, its agencies, and officials in litigation; Division of Appeals and Opinions, which represents the State in cases appealed in State and federal courts and interprets State laws for State agencies and municipalities; and Bureau of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs which prepares the attorney general's legislative program and submits bills to the State legislature.
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The Department of Law protects the legal rights of New York State's citizens by representing the State in all of its litigation and other legal affairs. It carries out this responsibility by prosecuting or defending all actions and proceedings for or against the State and its departments; prosecuting certain criminal violations of the Labor Law, Workers' Compensation Law, and Unemployment Insurance Law; investigating and prosecuting other criminal cases at the request of the governor or the commissioner of a State department; bringing civil/criminal actions against polluters of the environment, violators of the antitrust laws, and those who defraud consumer or investors; mediating consumers' complaints; and defending the legal and civil rights of New Yorkers.
Schout-fiscal (Dutch colonial); Attorney General (British colonial); Attorney General (1777); Department of Law (1926)
