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Attorney General of Rhode Island
Seal of the Attorney General of Rhode Island.jpg
Seal of the attorney general of Rhode Island
Neronha3.jpg
Incumbent
Peter Neronha

since January 1, 2019
Department of Law
Style The Honorable
Term length Four years
Renewal once
Constituting instrument Constitution of Rhode Island, Executive Law
Formation 1776
First holder Daniel Updike
Succession Election by joint session of Rhode Island General Assembly
Salary 130,413 $ (2019)

The attorney general of Rhode Island is the chief legal advisor of the government of the State of Rhode Island and oversees the State of Rhode Island Department of Law. The attorney general is elected every four years. The current attorney general is Peter F. Neronha.

History of the Rhode Island attorneys general

In 1643, Roger Williams obtained a patent (charter) from the English Parliament. The towns of Providence and Warwick elected a Chief Officer under the authority of this Parliamentary Patent of 1643. In 1647, the towns of Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and Warwick formed a united colony under the Parliamentary Patent. In May 1650, the offices of "Attorney General for the Colonie" and "Solicitor" were created.

List of attorneys general of Rhode Island

Attorney General under the Patent of 1643

  • William Dyer: May 1650 – 1651

Solicitor under the Patent of 1643

  • Hugh Built: May 1650 – 1651

Attorney General after the Coddington Commission

  • John Easton, of Newport: May 1653 – May 1654 (Attorney General only for Portsmouth and Newport following the repeal of the Coddington Commission, and before the re-unification of the four towns into a single government)

Attorneys general under the Patent of 1643

  • John Cranston, of Newport May 1654 – May 1656
  • John Easton, of Newport May 1656 – May 1657
  • John Greene, Jr. of Warwick May 1657 – May 1660
  • John Easton, of Newport May 1660 – May 1663

Attorneys general under the Royal Charter of 1663

Ward-richard.RI.Governor
Richard Ward, 1712–1713
HenryMarchant
Henry Marchant, 1771–1777
David Howell James Sullivan Lincoln
David Howell, 1789–1790
Ray Greene
Ray Greene, 1794–1797
James Burrill, Jr.
James Burrill, Jr., 1797–1814
ACGreene
Albert C. Greene, 1825–1843
  • John Sanford, of Portsmouth May 1663 – November 1664
  • John Easton, of Newport 1664–1670
  • John Sanford, of Portsmouth 1670–1671
  • Joseph Torrey, of Newport 1671–1672
  • John Easton, of Newport 1672–1674
  • Peter Easton, of Newport 1674–1676
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1676–1677
  • Edward Richmond, of Newport 1677–1680
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1680–1681
  • Edmund Calverly, of Warwick 1681–1682
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1684–1685
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1685–1686
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1684–1685
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1685–1686
  • John Williams, of Newport 1686–1689
  • John Pococke, of Newport May 1690 – ????
  • John Smith, of Warwick May 1696 – 1698
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1698–1700
  • John Rhodes, of Warwick 1700–1701
  • John Pococke, of Newport 1701–1702
  • Nathaniel Dyre, of Newport 1702–1704
  • Joseph Sheffield, of Newport 1704–1706
  • Simon Smith, of Warwick 1706–1712
  • Richard Ward, of Newport 1712–1713
  • John Hammett, of Newport 1713–1714
  • Weston Clarke, of Newport 1714–1721
  • Henry Bull, of Newport 1721–1722
  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1722–1732
  • James Honeyman, Jr., of Newport 1732–1740

King's attorneys

  • James Honeyman, Jr., of Newport 1741–1743
  • John Wanton, of Providence County 1741–1742
  • Daniel Updike, of King's County 1741–1743
  • John Andrew, of Providence County 1742–1743

Attorneys general

  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1746–1747
  • Augustus Johnston, of Newport 1758–1766
  • Oliver Arnold, of Providence 1766–1771
  • Henry Marchant, of Newport 1772–1776 (Independent)
  • William Channing, of Newport 1777–1786 (Country)
  • Henry Goodwin, of Newport 1787–1788 (Country)
  • David Howell, of Providence 1789 (PA)
  • Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1790
  • William Channing, of Newport 1791–1793 (Country)
  • Ray Greene, of Providence 1794–1796 (Federalist)
  • James Burrill, Jr., of Providence 1797–1813 (Federalist)
  • Samuel W. Bridgham, of Providence 1814–1816 (Federalist)
  • Henry Bowen, of Providence 1817–1818 (Democratic-Republican)
  • Dutee J. Pearce, of Newport 1819–1824 (Democratic-Republican)
  • Albert C. Greene, of East Greenwich 1825–1842 (Whig)

Attorneys general under the Constitution of Rhode Island (1843–present)

Image Name Party Term of office Residence
Joseph M. Blake Law and Order 1843–1850 Bristol
Walter S. Burges Democratic 1851–1853 Cranston
Christopher Robinson Whig 1854 Cumberland
Charles Hart Republican 1855–1857 Providence
Jerome Kimball Republican 1858–1859 Providence
Walter S. Burges Democratic 1860–1862 Cranston
Abraham Payne Republican 1863–1863 Providence
Colonel Horatio Rogers Jr.jpg Horatio Rogers Republican 1864–1866 Providence
Willard Sayles Republican 1866–1881 Providence
Samuel Pomeroy Colt.jpg Samuel P. Colt Republican 1882–1885 Bristol
Edwin Metcalf Prohibition 1886 Providence
Ziba O. Slocum Democratic 1887 Providence
Horatio Rogers Jr.png Horatio Rogers Republican 1888 Providence
Ziba O. Slocum Democratic 1889–1890 Providence
Robert W. Burbank Republican 1891–1893 Providence
Edward C. Dubois Republican 1894–1896 East Providence
Willard B. Tanner Republican 1897–1900 Providence
Charles F. Stearns Democratic 1901–1904 Providence
William B. Greenough Republican 1905–1911 Providence
Herbert A. Rice Republican 1912–1922 Pawtucket
Herbert L. Carpenter Democratic 1923–1924 North Smithfield
Charles P. Sisson Republican 1925–1928 Providence
Oscar L. Heltzen Republican 1929–1930 Providence
Benjamin M. McLyman (8411824819).jpg Benjamin M. McLyman Republican 1931–1933 Providence
JohnPHatigan.jpg John P. Hartigan Democratic 1933–1938 Cranston
Louis V. Jackvony Republican 1939–1940 Providence
John H. Nolan Democratic 1941–1949 Newport
William E. Powers Democratic 1949–1957 Cumberland
J. Joseph Nugent Democratic 1958–1967 Providence
Herbert F. DeSimone Republican 1967–1971 Providence
Richard J. Israel Republican 1971–1975 Providence
Julius C. Michaelson Democratic 1975–1979 Providence
Dennis J. Roberts II Democratic 1979–1985 Providence
Arlene Violet Republican 1985–1987 Providence
James E. O'Neil Democratic 1987–1993 Narragansett
Jeffrey B. Pine Republican 1993–1999 Providence
Sheldon Whitehouse 2010 (cropped).jpg Sheldon Whitehouse Democratic 1999–2003 Providence
Patrick C. Lynch Democratic 2003–2011 East Providence
Peter Kilmartin Democratic 2011–2019 Pawtucket
Neronha3.jpg Peter F. Neronha Democratic 2019–present Jamestown
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