Roles of the Office

What the Attorney General's Office DOES do:

• Protects the public by upholding the Consumer Protection Act and enforcing laws against anti-competitive business practices.
• Proposes legislation to further protect families and children and provide clear, just and enforceable laws.
• Conducts education campaigns consistent with the policy goals of the office, including Operation: Allied Against Meth, identity theft and senior fraud prevention.
• Pursues civil commitment of sexually violent predators to keep them out of your community until they are no longer a threat.
• Represents the State of Washington before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and trial courts in all the cases involving the state’s interest and defends in court state officers or employees ethically acting in their official capacities.
• Investigates and prosecutes persons accused of crimes when a county prosecutor (or in rare instances the Governor) refers jurisdiction of a criminal case and the Attorney General accepts the referral.
• Advises the Governor, members of the Legislature, other state officers, and county prosecutors on legal issues.
• Gives formal written attorney general’s opinions on constitutional or legal questions at the request of designated public officials.
•  Represents the public interest in utility matters and energy facility siting.

What the Attorney General’s Office DOES NOT do:

• The Attorney General’s Office is not authorized to provide advice to private citizens on personal legal matters. While the office may answer questions of a general nature, most private issues require a detailed analysis of the law, and such services are outside the scope of the office’s authority.
• The Attorney General’s Office is not responsible for representing city, county, or other local units of government.
• The Attorney General’s Office does not launch criminal investigations without a request from a county prosecutor or the Governor.