Pursuant to Section 7(2) of Article III of the North Carolina Constitution, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General:
(1) To defend all actions in the appellate division in which the State shall be interested, or a party, and to appear for the State in any other court or tribunal in any cause or matter, civil or criminal, in which the State may be a party or interested, subject to the provisions set forth in G.S. 1-72.2 and G.S. 120-32.6. The duty to represent the State in criminal appeals shall not be delegated to any district attorney's office or any other entity.
(2) To represent all State departments, agencies, institutions, commissions, bureaus or other organized activities of the State which receive support in whole or in part from the State. Where the Attorney General represents a State department, agency, institution, commission, bureau, or other organized activity of the State which receives support in whole or in part from the State, the Attorney General shall act in conformance with Rule 1.2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar.
(3) Repealed by Session Laws 1973, c. 702, s. 2.
(4) To consult with and advise the prosecutors, when requested by them, in all matters pertaining to the duties of their office.
(5) To give, when required, his opinion upon all questions of law submitted to him by the General Assembly, or by either branch thereof, or by the Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, or any other State officer.
(6) To pay all moneys received for debts due or penalties to the State immediately after the receipt thereof into the treasury.
(7) To compare the warrants drawn on the State treasury with the laws under which they purport to be drawn.
(8) Repealed by Session Laws 2024-57, s. 3D.1(h), effective December 11, 2024.
(9) To notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate whenever an action is filed in State or federal court that challenges the validity of a North Carolina statute or provision of the North Carolina Constitution under State or federal law.
(10) Pursuant to G.S. 120-32.6, to represent upon request and otherwise abide by and defer to the final decision-making authority exercised by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as agents of the State through the General Assembly, in defending any State or federal action challenging the validity or constitutionality of an act of the General Assembly or a provision of the North Carolina Constitution. If for any reason the Attorney General cannot perform the duty specified herein, the Attorney General may recuse personally from such defense but shall appoint another attorney employed by the Department of Justice to act at the direction of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. (1868-9, c. 270, s. 82; 1871-2, c. 112, s. 2; Code, s. 3363; 1893, c. 379; 1901, c. 744; Rev., s. 5380; C.S., s. 7694; 1931, c. 243, s. 5; 1933, c. 134, s. 8; 1941, c. 97; 1967, c. 691, s. 51; 1969, c. 535; 1973, c. 702, s. 2; 1977, c. 468, s. 17; 1979, c. 107, s. 9; 1983, c. 913, s. 15; 2014-100, s. 17.3A(b); 2017-57, s. 6.7(m); 2017-212, s. 5.2(a); 2024-57, s. 3D.1(h).)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
42
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 1953–2026 · leading case:
Bailey v. State, 540 S.E.2d 313 (N.C. 2000).
Bailey v. State, 540 S.E.2d 313 (N.C. 2000).
· cites it 12× “" Such duties, therefore, are left to the discretion of the General Assembly and are set forth in N.C.G.S. § 114-2. Subsection (1) of N.C.G.”
State v. Camacho, 406 S.E.2d 868 (N.C. 1991).
· cites it 6× “) (Attorney General to advise prosecutors, when requested hy them); N.C.G.S. § 114-2(1) (1987 & 1990 Cum. Supp.”
Neuse River Found., Inc. v. Smithfield Foods, Inc., 574 S.E.2d 48 (N.C. Ct. App. 2002).
· cites it 2× “” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2 (8)(a) (2001). The state’s exclusive authority to regulate its public trust waters thus limits the private rights of riparian landowners bordering such waters, subjecting them “to such general rules and regulations as the Legislature, in the exercise of…”
State v. Summers, 528 S.E.2d 17 (N.C. 2000).
· cites it 3× “See N.C.G.S. § 114-2(1), (2), (4) (1999); N.C.”
State Ex Rel. Edmisten v. Tucker, 323 S.E.2d 294 (N.C. 1984).
· cites it 3× “§ 1-260 (requiring litigants to serve the Attorney General with process and permitting the Attorney General to be heard whenever the constitutionality of a statute is challenged).”
State v. Felts, 339 S.E.2d 99 (N.C. Ct. App. 1986).
· cites it 6× “6 and G.S. 114-2(1) authorize his office to file an action pursuant to G.”
Tice v. Dep't of Transp., 312 S.E.2d 241 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984).
· cites it 5× “Plaintiff brought this action against defendant DOT and four individual defendants to establish title to a strip of land adjacent to other land which she owned.”
Nash Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Biltmore Co., 464 F. Supp. 1027 (E.D.N.C. 1978).
· cites it 7× “agencies or other organized activities of the State which receive support in whole or in part from the State,” see N.C.Gen.Stat. § 114-2, and therefore that the Attorney General lacked the requisite authority to act on the school board’s behalf.”
Dorsey v. Unc-wilmington, 468 S.E.2d 557 (N.C. Ct. App. 1996).
· cites it 2× “” Thus, both UNC-W, as a constituent member of the State’s university system, and the *67 Commission, are entitled to legal representation and advice from the Attorney General’s Office.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(1) — 9 cases
State v. Summers, 528 S.E.2d 17 (N.C. 2000).
“See N.C.G.S. § 114-2(1), (2), (4) (1999); N.C.”
State v. Camacho, 406 S.E.2d 868 (N.C. 1991).
“) (Attorney General to advise prosecutors, when requested hy them); N.C.G.S. § 114-2(1) (1987 & 1990 Cum. Supp.”
State v. Felts, 339 S.E.2d 99 (N.C. Ct. App. 1986).
“6 and G.S. 114-2(1) authorize his office to file an action pursuant to G.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(2) — 6 cases
Tice v. Dep't of Transp., 312 S.E.2d 241 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984).
“Plaintiff brought this action against defendant DOT and four individual defendants to establish title to a strip of land adjacent to other land which she owned.”
Dorsey v. Unc-wilmington, 468 S.E.2d 557 (N.C. Ct. App. 1996).
“” Thus, both UNC-W, as a constituent member of the State’s university system, and the *67 Commission, are entitled to legal representation and advice from the Attorney General’s Office.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(4) — 3 cases
State v. Camacho, 406 S.E.2d 868 (N.C. 1991).
“) (Attorney General to advise prosecutors, when requested hy them); N.C.G.S. § 114-2(1) (1987 & 1990 Cum. Supp.”
State v. Felts, 339 S.E.2d 99 (N.C. Ct. App. 1986).
“6 and G.S. 114-2(1) authorize his office to file an action pursuant to G.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(5) — 1 case
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 114-2(8)(a) — 6 cases
Bailey v. State, 540 S.E.2d 313 (N.C. 2000).
“" Such duties, therefore, are left to the discretion of the General Assembly and are set forth in N.C.G.S. § 114-2. Subsection (1) of N.C.G.”
State Ex Rel. Edmisten v. Tucker, 323 S.E.2d 294 (N.C. 1984).
“§ 1-260 (requiring litigants to serve the Attorney General with process and permitting the Attorney General to be heard whenever the constitutionality of a statute is challenged).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.