Attorney General question

[tvc184]

I just read the definition of "Attorney General" in regards to the USA and I'm very confused. It says the Attorney General is "the top cop and lawyer for the United States". Isn't that a conflict of interest? It would be like the County Sheriff also being the County Prosecutor. Aren't these two seperatley parts of law enforcement? Am I understanding this wrongly or can someone explain how this isn't a conflict of interest?

Thanks

The top cop or chief law enforcement officer is kind of a yes/no kind of thing. The AG is the chief prosecutor of the US. It is no different than a county DA in Texas being the chief prosecutor at the county level.

Some like to say that the sheriff is the top cop in a county (although that is somewhat of a misnomer). No matter how top you think the sheriff is, he cannot prosecute anyone. The sheriff or any officer can ask for charges to be filed but the prosecutor's office has to accept and prosecute the case. So who is the top cop.... the prosecutor who actually brings things to trial (and there is almost no point if that isn't done) or the guy that investigates by asking questions, taking fingerprints/photographs, etc.?

Note that the DA also has a police department under his control. While within a single county there is the sheriff's office, the city police, constables, game wardens, TXDPS, etc., the DA still has their own investigators. If there is a complaint against officers, it is usually the DA investigators that do the investigation.

That means that the DA is both the head of a law enforcement agency (top cop) and prosecutor for the county. Seems like a conflict of interest? Maybe but the prosecutor has to have some kind of arrest authority or the prosecution is almost a title without a means of enforcement.

By the same token, the US AG is not a police officer per se (he/she is a lawyer) but is the head of an agency that has law enforcement attached to it. It is no different than the DA but instead of on a county level, on a national level.

Clear as mud?

[SMUMan02]

C'mon man. You can't be serious.


"An honest government has no fear of an armed population".

Only one of them is currently indicted.

[wellingtontx]

This administration's idea of an attorney general is whatever it wants them to be at a given moment, but it usually seems to involve stirring up racial conflict.

This ! More political than anything under this unfortunate administration.

[M.E.B.]

During the current administration the AG is a joke.