The Office of the Utah Attorney General, led by Attorney General Derek Brown, was set up in 1850 when Utah was still a territory. At this time, the duties of the Attorney General were to keep his office at the seat of government, to attend to all legal business on the part of the Territory, before the courts, where the Territory is a party, and prosecute individuals accused of crimes in the judicial district which he keeps his office.

The territorial office of Attorney General then lasted for 22 years. But then, in 1874, Congress passed the Poland Act, which abolished the jurisdiction of the Utah Territory’s “probate court” system and the territorial offices of the Attorney General and Marshall.

Once again, in 1895, the people of Utah created the Office of the Attorney General, this time in the Constitution of Utah. At that point, the Utah Constitution stated that the Attorney General serves as the sole legal adviser to state officers, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution, and performed any other duties required by law.

Now individual states, territories, and Washington D.C. each have their own attorneys general and they are not to be confused with the U.S. Attorney General who is Head of the Department of Justice, and a member of the Presidential cabinet. Most states do a vote of the people to elect attorneys general while the President nominates the U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Senate has to confirm the nominee.

Since the admission of Utah as a state on January 4, 1896, the Attorney General has been an independently elected constitutional officer of the executive department and serves four-year terms. This official must be at least 25 years old at the time of their election, also be admitted to practice before the State Supreme Court, and a member of the Utah State Bar in good faith. Attorney General Derek Brown, who is currently serving, is the 22nd Attorney General of the state.

Utah Attorneys General from 1896 to present

1896–1901: A. C. Bishop

1901–1909: M. R. Breeden

1909–1917: A. R. Barns

1917-1921: Dan B. Shields

1921–1929: Harvey H. Cluff

1929–1933: George P. Parker

1933–1941: Joseph Chez Jan

1941–1949: Grover A. Giles

1949–1953: Clinton D. Vernon

1953–1959: E.R. Callister,

1959–1961: Walter L. Budge

1961–1965: A. Pratt Kessler

1965–1969: Phil L. Hansen

1969–1977: Vernon B. Romney

1977–1981: Robert B. Hansen

1981–1989: David L. Wilkinson

1989–1993: Paul Van Dam

1993–2001: Jan Graham

2001–2013: Mark Shurtleff

2013: John Swallow

2013-2024: Sean Reyes

2025-Present: Derek Brown