Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 16.01 (2025)

Residence, office, and duties of Attorney General.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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16.01 Residence, office, and duties of Attorney General.—The Attorney General:

(1) Shall reside at the seat of government and shall keep his or her office in the capitol.

(2) Shall perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution of this state and also perform such other duties appropriate to his or her office as may from time to time be required of the Attorney General by law or by resolution of the Legislature.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall, on the written requisition of the Governor, a member of the Cabinet, the head of a department in the executive branch of state government, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, or the Minority Leader of the Senate, and may, upon the written requisition of a member of the Legislature, other state officer, or officer of a county, municipality, other unit of local government, or political subdivision, give an official opinion and legal advice in writing on any question of law relating to the official duties of the requesting officer.

(4) Shall appear in and attend to, in behalf of the state, all suits or prosecutions, civil or criminal or in equity, in which the state may be a party, or in anywise interested, in the Supreme Court and district courts of appeal of this state.

(5) Shall appear in and attend to such suits or prosecutions in any other of the courts of this state or in any courts of any other state or of the United States. This subsection is not intended to authorize the joinder of the Attorney General as a party in such suits or prosecutions.

(6) Shall act as co-counsel of record in capital collateral proceedings.

(7) Shall have and perform all powers and duties incident or usual to such office.

(8) Shall make and keep in his or her office a record of all his or her official acts and proceedings, containing copies of all official opinions, reports, and correspondence, and also keep and preserve in the office all official letters and communications to him or her and cause a registry and index thereof to be made and kept, all of which official papers and records shall be subject to the inspection of the Governor of the state and to the disposition of the Legislature by act or resolution thereof.

(9) May periodically publish a report of his or her official opinions and may prepare and publish an index or consolidated index or indexes of opinions.

History.—s. 2, ch. 2, 1845; ch. 1845, 1871; RS 85; GS 87; RGS 101; CGL 125; s. 7, ch. 22858, 1945; s. 7, ch. 59-1; s. 1, ch. 78-399; s. 1, ch. 79-159; s. 7, ch. 81-259; s. 1, ch. 85-123; s. 45, ch. 95-147; s. 10, ch. 97-313; s. 6, ch. 2001-266.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 58 cases (10 in the last 5 years), 1943–2026 · leading case: State of Florida Ex Rel. Robert L. Shevin, Attorney Gen., Plaintiff v. Exxon Corp., 526 F.2d 266 (5th Cir. 1976).

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State of Florida Ex Rel. Robert L. Shevin, Attorney Gen., Plaintiff v. Exxon Corp., 526 F.2d 266 (5th Cir. 1976). · cites it 3× “Fla.Stat.Ann. § 16.01 (1961); see Beverly v.”

Bondi v. Tucker, 93 So. 3d 1106 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). · cites it 4× “110(b) (requiring notice to be filed within 30 days of rendition), the Attorney General filed 1 a notice of appeal of the trial court’s order, not on behalf of any party to the proceedings below, but “in her capacity as the Attorney General of the State of Florida and pursuant…”

Barnes v. State, 743 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). · cites it 4× “Section 16.01 unambiguously authorizes only the Attorney General to represent the state in the appellate courts of this state, and section 27.”

West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., Inc., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976). “1st 1972), quoting from 2 Frumer and Friedman Products Liability § 16.01(3), at 3-20 to 3-31. The defendant manufacturer may assert that the plaintiff was negligent in some specified manner other than failing to discover or guard against a defect, such as assuming the risk, or…”

Florida Carry, Inc. v. Univ. of North Florida, 133 So. 3d 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). · cites it 2× “Section 16.01(4), Florida Statutes (2011), provides that the Attorney General “[s]hall appear in and attend to, in behalf of the state, all suits or prosecutions, civil or criminal or in equity, in which the state may be a party, or in anywise interested, in the Supreme Court…”

Holland v. Watson, 14 So. 2d 200 (Fla. 1943). · cites it 6× “The duties of the Attorney General of Florida are set out in Section 22 of Article IV of the Constitution and Section 16.01, Florida Statutes 1941, as follows: “Section 22, Article IV — The Attorney General shall be the legal advisor of the Governor, and of each of the officers…”

Kuhnlein v. Dep't of Revenue, 662 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 1995). · cites it 2× “It is self-evident, however, that the State has an interest in protecting its citizens from excessive fees or costs which would diminish the amount of the tax refund they are entitled to receive from the common fund in this case.”

Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Marko, 352 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 1977). · cites it 2× “[3] The Attorney General appears in defense of the constitutionality of the statute pursuant to § 16.01, Fla. Stat. (1975), and the decision of this Court in State ex rel.”

Love v. State, 569 So. 2d 807 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). · cites it 2× “See § 16.01, Fla. Stat. (1989). Ex parte communication between a trial judge and assistant attorney general concerning a pending criminal case is totally inappropriate and will mandate reversal if: 1) The defense has requested that the trial judge recuse himself or has requested…”

Zoltan Barati v. State of Florida, Motorola, Inc., 198 So. 3d 69 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016). “” § 16.01(4) & (5), Fla. Stat. The organic and statutory law are not the only sources of authority of the Attorney General; the common law provides the Attorney General the authority to intervene in matters of “compelling public interest,” as recognized by the Florida Supreme…”

Ervin v. Collins, 85 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 1956). · cites it 2× “Section 12 of the complaint so alleges and the same section of the answer admits this allegation to be true.”

Joseph Richard Redner v. Charles S. Dean, Sheriff of Citrus Cnty., Florida, Robert A. Butterworth, 29 F.3d 1495 (11th Cir. 1994). “” Fla.Stat.Ann. § 16.01(4). Although Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases requires that the state attorney general be served, the advisory committee notes to that rule make clear that the attorney general “is not required to answer if it is more appropriate for some…”

Show all 58 citing cases →

— 16.01(2) — 7 cases

Halifax Hosp. Med. Ctr. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen. (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

South Broward Hosp. Dist., d/b/a Mem'l Healthcare Sys. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Sch. Bd. of Miami-Dade Cnty. & Putnam Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Sarasota Cnty. Pub. Hosp. Dist., d/b/a Sarasota Mem'l Healthcare Sys., Inc. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 2d DCA 2024).

Putnam Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 1st DCA 2024).

— 16.01(3) — 12 cases

Comm'n on Ethics v. Sullivan, 489 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1986).

Martinez v. Clark Equip. Co., 382 So. 2d 878 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).

Gretna Racing, LLC v. Dep't of Bus. & Prof'l Reg., 178 So. 3d 15 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016).

Halifax Hosp. Med. Ctr. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen. (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

— 16.01(4) — 21 cases

Bondi v. Tucker, 93 So. 3d 1106 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). “110(b) (requiring notice to be filed within 30 days of rendition), the Attorney General filed 1 a notice of appeal of the trial court’s order, not on behalf of any party to the proceedings below, but “in her capacity as the Attorney General of the State of Florida and pursuant…”

Florida Carry, Inc. v. Univ. of North Florida, 133 So. 3d 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). “Section 16.01(4), Florida Statutes (2011), provides that the Attorney General “[s]hall appear in and attend to, in behalf of the state, all suits or prosecutions, civil or criminal or in equity, in which the state may be a party, or in anywise interested, in the Supreme Court…”

Barnes v. State, 743 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). “Section 16.01 unambiguously authorizes only the Attorney General to represent the state in the appellate courts of this state, and section 27.”

Kuhnlein v. Dep't of Revenue, 662 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 1995). “It is self-evident, however, that the State has an interest in protecting its citizens from excessive fees or costs which would diminish the amount of the tax refund they are entitled to receive from the common fund in this case.”

— 16.01(4)(5) — 1 case

Fulk v. State, 417 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).

— 16.01(5) — 2 cases

Olive v. Maas, 811 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 2002).

Florida East Coast Ry. Co. v. Martinez, 761 F. Supp. 782 (M.D. Fla. 1991).

— 16.01(7) — 7 cases

Halifax Hosp. Med. Ctr. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen. (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

South Broward Hosp. Dist., d/b/a Mem'l Healthcare Sys. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Sch. Bd. of Miami-Dade Cnty. & Putnam Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 3d DCA 2024).

Sarasota Cnty. Pub. Hosp. Dist., d/b/a Sarasota Mem'l Healthcare Sys., Inc. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 2d DCA 2024).

Putnam Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Off. of the Attorney Gen., Dep't of Legal Affairs, State of Florida (Fla. 1st DCA 2024).

— 16.01(a) — 1 case

Federated Stores Realty, Inc. v. Final Touch Boutique, Inc. (In Re Final Touch Boutique, Inc.), 6 B.R. 803 (Bankr. S.D. Florida 1980).

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