The Attorney General

Attorney General

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...

 of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

is the Government of the State of Rhode Island's chief legal advisor. The Attorney General is voted in every four years. The position also oversees the State of Rhode Island Department of Law. The current Attorney General is Peter Kilmartin

Peter Kilmartin

Peter F. Kilmartin is an American attorney and currently Attorney General of Rhode Island. Kilmartin is a retired police captain and formerly a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.-Biography:...

.

History of the Rhode Island Attorney Generals

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.

Solicitor under the Patent of 1643

• Hugh Buit May 1650 - 1651
• John Easton, of Newport May 1653 - May 1654

Attorney 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
• 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

Attorney General

• Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1746 - 1747
• Augustus Johnston, of Newport 1758 - 1766
• Oliver Arnold, of Providence 1766 - 1771
• Henry Marchant, of Newport 1771 - 1777
• William Channing, of Newport 1777 - 1787
• Henry Goodwin, of Newport 1787 - 1789
• David Howell, of Providence 1789 - 1790
• Daniel Updike, of North Kingstown 1790 - 1791
• William Channing, of Newport 1791 - 1793
• Ray Greene, of Providence 1794 - 1797
• James Burrill, Jr., of Providence 1797 - 1814
• Samuel W. Bridgham, of Providence 1814 - 1817
• Henry Bowen, of Providence 1817 - 1819
• Dutee J. Pearce 1819 - 1825
• Albert C. Greene, of East Greenwich 1825 - 1843
• Joseph M. Blake, of Bristol 1843 - 1851
• Walter S. Burges, of Cranston 1851 - 1854
• Christopher Robinson, of Cumberland 1854 - 1855
• Charles Hart, of Providence 1855 - 1858
• Jerome Kimball, of Providence 1858 - 1860
• Walter S. Burges, of Cranston 1860 - 1863
• Abraham Payne, of Providence 1863 - 1864
• Horatio Rogers, Jr., of Providence 1864 - 1867
• Willard Sayles, of Providence 1867 - 1882
• Samuel P. Colt, of Bristol 1882 - 1886
• Edwin Metcalf, of Providence 1886 - 1887
• Ziba O. Slocum, of Providence 1887 - 1888
• Horatio Rogers, of Providence 1888 - 1889
• Ziba O. Slocum, of Providence 1889 - 1891
• Robert W. Burbank, of Providence 1891 - 1894
• Edward C. Dubois, of East Providence 1894 - 1897
• Willard B. Tanner, of Providence 1897 - 1901 [R]
• Charles F. Stearns, of Providence 1901 - 1905 [D]
• William B. Greenough, of Providence 1905 - 1912 [R]
• Herbert A. Rice, of Pawtucket 1912 - 1923 [R]
• Herbert L. Carpenter, of No. Smithfield 1923 - 1925 [D]
• Charles P. Sisson, of Providence 1922 - 1929 [R]
• Oscar L. Heltzen, of Providence 1929 - 1930 [R]
• Benjamin M. McLyman, of Providence 1930 - 1933 [R]
• John P. Hartigan, of Cranston 1933 - 1939 [D]
• Louis V. Jackvony, of Providence 1939 - 1941 [R]
• John H. Nolan, of Newport 1941 - 1949 [D]
• William E. Powers, of Cumberland 1949 - 1958 [D]
• J. Joseph Nugent, of Providence 1958 - 1967 [D]
• Herbert F. DeSimone, of Providence 1967 - 1971 [R]
• Richard J. Israel, of Providence 1971 - 1975 [R]
• Julius C. Michaelson, of Providence 1975 - 1979 [D]
• Dennis J. Roberts II, of Providence 1979 - 1985 [D]
• Arlene N. Violet, of Providence 1985 - 1987 [R]
• James E. O'Neil, of Narragansett 1987 - 1993 [D]
• Jeffrey B. Pine, of Providence 1993 - 1999 [R]
• Sheldon Whitehouse, of Providence 1999 - 2003 [D]
• Patrick Lynch, of East Providence 2003 - 2011 [D]
• Peter Kilmartin, of Pawtucket 2011–Present [D]