Office of the Attorney General

**What We Do****Duties and Powers of the Office** The duties of the Attorney General are established by the [Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 5, Chapter 9 (PDF)](http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/5/title5ch9.pdf). These statutes direct the attorney General to discharge various responsibilities, including: - representing the State and its agencies in civil actions; - prosecuting claims to recover money for the State; - investigating and prosecuting homicides and other crimes; - consulting with and advising the district attorneys; - enforcing proper application of funds given to public charities in the State; - and giving written opinions upon questions of law submitted by the Governor, Legislature, or state agencies. The Attorney General may appoint deputy and assistant attorneys general, all of whom serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General. In addition to these statutory powers, the Attorney General is vested with certain other powers deriving from the Office's common law powers. The leading case on the powers and duties of the Attorney General is Superintendent of Insurance v. Attorney General, 558 A.2d 1197 (Me.1989). The essential principle stated by the Court in this landmark decision is that the Attorney General possesses constitutional and common law authority, independent of the agencies represented by the Office that may be exercised by the Attorney General in the public interest.