The Arizona Solicitor General is the appointed head of the appellate division inside the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, representing the state in state and federal appellate courts, overseeing criminal, capital, civil, and special litigation, and helping produce the formal legal opinions the Attorney General issues to state officials. Joshua Bendor has held the position since January 2023, with Alexander Samuels serving as Deputy Solicitor General.1AZ Direct. Attorney General’s Office
What the Office Does
The Solicitor General’s attorneys appear for Arizona in federal and state appellate courts, up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court and the Arizona Supreme Court.2Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Duties and Responsibilities The division is organized into four sections, each led by a Section Chief Counsel, and the work falls along those same lines.
Criminal Appeals
This section handles felony conviction appeals, with particular focus on first-degree murder cases and cases involving minors.2Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Duties and Responsibilities The attorneys argue the state’s position when a defendant challenges a conviction on grounds like trial error, insufficient evidence, or a constitutional violation.
Capital Litigation
Death penalty cases get their own dedicated section. Capital litigation carries specialized procedural requirements at both the state and federal level, and the stakes and complexity are high enough that Arizona staffs it separately from the general criminal appeals docket.
Civil Appeals
When a state agency or state official is sued and the case reaches an appellate court, the civil appeals section carries the state’s side of the argument.
Special Litigation
This section covers work that falls outside the standard appellate categories. One recurring piece of it is Open Meeting Law enforcement: the AG’s Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team investigates complaints that public bodies met in violation of transparency rules, pursues civil penalties against repeat violators, and in the most serious cases can seek removal of a public officer from office.3Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Open Meeting Law Complaint Form
The office also files amicus curiae briefs, often called friend-of-the-court briefs, in cases where Arizona is not a party but the outcome could affect the state. These show up across consumer protection, environmental regulation, and criminal law, among other areas.
Attorney General Opinions
Outside the courtroom, the Solicitor General’s office plays a central role in producing formal Attorney General Opinions. These are written legal analyses interpreting state statutes for government officials who need guidance on how the law applies to their duties.
Only certain people can request one: the legislature or either house, any public officer of the state, or a county attorney. The request has to involve a question of law tied to the requester’s official responsibilities.4Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Opinions Private citizens cannot request AG Opinions, and the office does not provide legal advice to individuals.
One detail trips people up. These opinions are advisory. They do not carry the weight of a court decision, and a court is free to reach a different conclusion.4Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Opinions State officials still rely on them routinely to navigate ambiguous statutes without the cost and delay of litigation.
How the Solicitor General Is Chosen
Unlike the Attorney General, who is elected statewide, the Solicitor General is appointed by the Attorney General. No Arizona statute creates the title by name. The position exists under the AG’s broad statutory authority to organize the Department of Law and employ assistant attorneys general and other staff needed to carry out the department’s functions.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 41-192 – Powers and Duties of Attorney General A new Attorney General can appoint a different Solicitor General, which keeps the role aligned with the elected AG’s legal philosophy and litigation strategy.
No statute spells out qualifications specific to the Solicitor General. In practice, candidates are expected to have deep appellate and constitutional experience in state and federal courts. For context, ARS 41-191 requires the Attorney General to have been a practicing attorney before the Arizona Supreme Court for at least five years before taking office.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 41-191 – Attorney General; Qualifications; Salary; Assistants The Solicitor General typically exceeds that threshold given the sophistication of U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit arguments.
Where the Office’s Authority Comes From
The core authority sits in Arizona Revised Statutes Section 41-193, which lays out the powers and duties of the Department of Law. The statute requires the department to prosecute and defend all proceedings in the Arizona Supreme Court in which the state or a state officer is a party. In courts other than the Supreme Court, the Attorney General can act at the governor’s direction or on the AG’s own initiative when the state has an interest. The statute also directs the department to represent Arizona in federal court actions.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 41-193 – Department of Law; Composition; Powers and Duties
A second statute matters a lot in practice. Under ARS 12-1841, whenever someone alleges a state statute or rule is unconstitutional, the Attorney General must be served with a copy of the pleading at the same time as the other parties, and is entitled to be heard. If that service does not happen, the court must vacate any finding of unconstitutionality and give the AG a reasonable opportunity to prepare and respond.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-1841 – Parties; Notice The office can then intervene as a full party, file briefs without becoming a party, or decline to participate. Arizona’s Rules of Civil Procedure separately allow a state governmental officer or agency to intervene in any case where a party’s claim or defense is based on a statute the agency administers.9New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 24 – Intervention Together these provisions guarantee the Solicitor General a seat at the table whenever Arizona law is challenged.
Multistate and Federal Litigation
A growing share of the work involves coordinating with other states’ attorneys general on multistate lawsuits. Arizona joins coalitions that challenge or defend federal policies, file joint amicus briefs, and align strategies on issues like environmental regulation, immigration, and federal agency authority. These coalitions often come together through organizations like the National Association of Attorneys General.
The AG’s office maintains a dedicated “Federal Action Lawsuits” section on its website tracking Arizona’s active challenges to federal policies. When Arizona contributes briefs and legal arguments to that interstate work, the Solicitor General’s team is usually the one drafting them.
Where the Office Sits
The Solicitor General’s division is a subset of the broader Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which is the largest law office in the state with roughly 400 attorneys and 1,000 total employees.1AZ Direct. Attorney General’s Office The exact attorney count for the Solicitor General’s division is not published.