Attorney General of Idaho

	Idaho Attorney General
	; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Term limits:	None
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Idaho Constitution, Article IV, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	; ;
Name:	Lawrence Wasden
Officeholder Party:	Republican
Assumed office:	2003
Compensation:	$103,984
	Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
	Other Idaho Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Controller • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Agriculture Director • Insurance Director • Director of Lands • Labor Director • Public Utilities Commission

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The Attorney General of Idaho is the state government's chief legal officer and its primary legal counsel. The attorney general represents the state in legal matters, delivers official legal opinions to state agencies and the legislature, and investigates and prosecutes certain types of serious crime.

Current officeholder

The current and 32nd attorney general is Lawrence Wasden, a Republican, who was first elected on November 5, 2002, and re-elected in 2006 and 2010. Wasden's third time began on January 3, 2011, and will end on January 5, 2015. He will come up for re-election in 2014.

Wasden has had a 22 year career in the Idaho attorney general's office, serving variously as chief of staff to the attorney general, deputy chief of staff, and a deputy attorney general for the Idaho State Tax Commission. He has also served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Canyon County, ID, and as a prosecuting attorney in Owyhee County, ID.^[1]

Authority

The office of attorney general is established in the Idaho Constitution.

Idaho Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold his office for four years

Qualifications

Per Article IV, Section 3 of the Idaho Constitution, a candidate for attorney general is required to be:

at least 30 old
a member of the Idaho bar in good standing
a United States citizen
a resident of Idaho at least two years prior to the election

Idaho Constitution, Article IV, Section 3

No person shall be eligible ... to the office of attorney general unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, and have been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the state or territory of Idaho, and be in good standing at the time of his election. In addition to the qualifications above described each of the officers named shall be a citizen of the United States and shall have resided within the state or territory two years next preceding his election.

Elections

Idaho elects attorneys general to four year terms in federal midterm election years, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. Thus, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 are all election years. Winners take office on the first Monday in the January following an election. Thus, January 3, 2011 and January 5, 2015 are inaugural days.

If two candidates ever tie in the general election, a joint session of the legislature chooses the winner by a majority vote.

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

There are no term limits for this office. Out of all of Idaho's state executives, only the Idaho Controller faces term limits.

2010

See also: Idaho Attorney General election, 2010

2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary and General Election
- Lawrence Wasden ran unopposed in both contests

2006

2006 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary ^[2]
Candidates		Percentage
Lawrence Wasden (R)		73.7%
Myron Dan Gabbert (R)		26.3%
Total votes		121,122

2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election ^[3]
Candidates		Percentage
Lawrence Wasden (R)		61.8%
Robert A. Wallace (D)		38.2%
Total votes		433,557

2002

2002 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary ^[4]
Candidates		Percentage
Lawrence Wasden (R)		32.2%
Michael Bogert (R)		30.5%
Todd Lakey (R)		23.5%
Myron Dan Gabbert (R)		13.8%
Total votes		124,004

2002 Race for Attorney General - General Election ^[5]
Candidates		Percentage
Lawrence Wasden (R)		58.1%
R. Keith Roark (D)		41.9%
Total votes		399,204

Vacancies

Per Article IV, Section 6 of the Idaho Constitution, the governor appoints a replacement to any state office where a vacancy occurs, subject to the approval of the Idaho Senate. The appointee serves until the next general election.

Duties

The attorney general acts as the state's primary legal counsel; it represents Idaho in legal matters and issues formal legal opinions on policy issues to state agencies and the legislature. The attorney general's office also runs a variety of programs to reduce types of serious crime, including child sexual abuse, Medicaid fraud, and others.

Divisions

Chief Deputy
Assistant Chief Deputy
Civil Litigation Division
Consumer Protection Division
Contracts and Administrative Law Division
Criminal Law Division
Human Services Division
Intergovernmental and Fiscal Law Division
Natural Resources Division
Administration and Budget Division
Office Statistics

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

In 2012, the Idaho Attorney General was paid an estimated $103,984. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.

The attorney general's compensation is determined by law.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Idaho + Attorney + General + Wasden

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Idaho Attorney General News Feed

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Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Idaho + Attorney + General

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.