Records of the Office of the Attorney General

Abstract: The records from the Office of the Attorney General consist of policy and activity records documenting the functions of the agency divisions (administrative, anti-trust, board of law review, civil, criminal, consumer protection, litigation, LOGIC (Legal Opinions and Government Counsel Division), Medicare / Medicaid fraud and abuse, and victim's rights). Included are civil and criminal case files, correspondence, policy rules and regulations, meeting minutes, reports, investigations, task force files, directors' and committee files, and information from significant or landmark cases handled by the State's Office of the Attorney General since the late 19th century. Collectively the records of this agency provide an overview of legal history within the State of Kansas, demonstrating what has been considered of significant legal importance to Kansans through the decades.

Administrative History: The Attorney General is a constitutional office created in 1861, the year that Kansas gained statehood. The Kansas Attorney General serves as the state's top law enforcement and legal officer. The office represents the state in legal affairs and the citizens of the state through its various divisions, boards and agencies. The Attorney General is elected at the November general election in even numbered years. The Bureau of Investigation, which was created in 1939, was placed under the Attorney General's supervision. In 1951, the Attorney General was made a member of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation Pension Board.

Currently, the Office of the Attorney General has eleven divisions: in the Department of Criminal Justice are the Criminal Litigation Division, Crime Victims' Rights Program, Drug Abuse Resistance & Education (D.A.R.E.), the State Child Death Review Board, the Crime Victims' Compensation Board, and Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division. In the Department of Civil Law are the Civil Litigation Division, Consumer Protection/Anti-Trust Division, Legal Opinions & Government Counsel Division (otherwise known as the LOGIC Division). Other divisions and offices that fall under the Attorney General include the Administrative Services Division and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (a separate agency under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General).

[Kansas State Publications Archival Collection. "Attorney General, Kansas." http://www.kspace.org/handle/1984/54 (accessed 10 October 2008).]

[Wilder, Bessie. Governmental Agencies of the State of Kansas, 1861-1956. Lawrence: University of Kansas Publications, 1957.]

Related materials: Records of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation