Defender General history

Before Washington became a state, the Washington Territory’s Legislature created the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) in January 1887.

On February 2, 1888, Territorial Governor Eugene Semple appointed Metcalfe to the office.

When Washington became a state in 1889, the state constitution codified the Attorney General’s Office as part of the executive branch.

When the legislature created the state Railroad Commission in 1905, John Atkinson represented the commission.

Further developments in the legislature also prompted the creation of new divisions within the AGO. The 1951 estate sales tax led to the creation of the Revenue Division.

The expansion of the federal interstate highway system in 1956 fueled the development of Washington State’s highways, prompting the creation of the Highways Division.

In 1970, as part of the modern environmental movement, Attorney General Gorton created the Ecology Division.

Christine Gregoire was elected Washington’s Attorney General in 1992, the first woman to hold the office in Washington State.

Because the United States attorney general has so many different roles, the office has been involved in some interesting cases and issues. For example, then Attorney General Janet Reno authorized the 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian religious compound in Waco, Texas.

In 2001, then Attorney General John Ashcroft declared that physician-assisted suicide violated a federal law regulating controlled substances.