The Attorney General, as the head of the Department of Law and the chief legal officer of the state, is authorized to prosecute in the criminal courts of this state any official, person, firm, or corporation which violates any criminal statute while dealing with or for the state or any official, employee, department, agency, board, bureau, commission, institution, or appointee thereof; and the Attorney General is authorized to call upon the district attorney or the prosecuting officer of any state court to assist in or to conduct such prosecution; and, when so requested by the Attorney General, it shall be the duty of any such district attorney or prosecuting officer of this state to assist in or to conduct such prosecution for and on behalf of the Attorney General and the state. The Attorney General shall be authorized to commence civil forfeiture proceedings, as such term is defined in Code Section 9-16-2, pursuant to Code Section 16-14-7 whenever he or she is authorized to prosecute a case pursuant to this Code section.
(Ga. L. 1943, p. 284, § 6; Ga. L. 2002, p. 415, § 45; Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 3-26/HB 233.)
The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, added the last sentence in this Code section. See editor's note for applicability.
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 2015, p. 693, § 4-1/HB 233, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2015, and shall apply to seizures of property for forfeiture that occur on or after that date. Any such seizure that occurs before July 1, 2015, shall be governed by the statute in effect at the time of such seizure."
Law reviews.- For article on the 2015 amendment of this Code section, see 32 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 1 (2015).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
No conflict between giving legal advice and prosecuting.
- There is no conflict between the Attorney General's giving legal advice to officers or employees of the Department of Labor and prosecuting department officers or employees who violate the laws. Such a dual role is authorized. Brown v. State, 177 Ga. App. 284, 339 S.E.2d 332 (1985).
Cited in Courtney v. State, 340 Ga. App. 496, 797 S.E.2d 496 (2017); State v. Rowe, Ga. , 843 S.E.2d 537 (May 18, 2020).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Cooperation in prosecution of certain persons.
- The language in this section which empowers the Attorney General to prosecute in the criminal courts of this state any officer, person, firm, or corporation for violation of any criminal statute in dealing with or for the state, clearly indicates that the Attorney General should, when requested to do so by one of the department heads of this state, cooperate in the prosecution of persons who are violating a criminal statute in dealing with, or refusing to deal with one of the departments of state. 1945-47 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 564.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 7 Am. Jur. 2d, Attorney General, §§ 15, 21, 28 et seq., 34 et seq.
C.J.S.- 7A C.J.S., Attorney General, §§ 37-39.