The Kansas Solicitor General is the appointed head of the Solicitor General Division within the Kansas Attorney General’s office, responsible for representing the state in civil and criminal appeals in state and federal courts, defending Kansas statutes against constitutional challenge, and drafting official Attorney General Opinions. Anthony J. Powell has held the position since December 2022, when Attorney General Kris Kobach named him to the role.
How the Position Is Filled
No single Kansas statute creates the Solicitor General by name. The authority comes from the Attorney General’s power to staff the office and assign duties under K.S.A. 75-710, combined with the core duty in K.S.A. 75-702 to “appear for the state, and prosecute and defend any and all actions and proceedings, civil or criminal, in the Kansas supreme court, the Kansas court of appeals and in all federal courts, in which the state shall be interested or a party.”1Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Statutes 75-702 – Duties and Responsibilities; Authority To Prosecute and Defend The Solicitor General carries out a large share of that mandate for the Attorney General.
Because the Attorney General makes the appointment, the Solicitor General’s tenure usually tracks the appointing administration. Powell succeeded Brant Laue, who had taken the role after Toby Crouse left in 2020 for a federal judgeship. The job is a professional appointment rather than an elected office, and selection turns on appellate litigation experience and constitutional law background.
What the Solicitor General Division Does
The division handles the state’s appellate work. Its attorneys “represent Kansas’ interests in civil and criminal appeals in state and federal courts, and also appear in trial courts for habeas suits and other quasi-appellate proceedings.”2Attorney General of Kansas. Divisions Habeas cases, in which incarcerated people challenge the legality of their detention, make up a meaningful part of the workload even though they start in trial courts.
The division also drafts official Attorney General Opinions in response to inquiries from government officials.2Attorney General of Kansas. Divisions These opinions are not binding the way a court ruling is, but they carry weight as authoritative guidance on how Kansas statutes should be read, and they often function as the practical last word for state agencies, boards, and commissions until a court says otherwise.
Not every appeal gets the Solicitor General’s personal attention. Routine matters go to other attorneys in the division; the Solicitor General sets strategy, reviews briefs, and takes direct responsibility for cases where a ruling could reshape Kansas law or where state sovereignty is on the line. When a case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, the Solicitor General may file or respond to a petition for certiorari and argue the case if the Court grants review.
Toby Crouse described the scope of the position in his Senate Judiciary Questionnaire as overseeing “the State’s appellate litigation, including briefing and arguing cases before the Kansas Supreme Court, the Kansas Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.”3U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Toby Crouse Senate Judiciary Questionnaire
Defending the Constitutionality of Kansas Laws
Whenever a private party argues that a Kansas statute violates the state or federal constitution, the Solicitor General prepares the defense. Kansas backs that role with a specific procedural right. Under K.S.A. 75-764, it is the “public policy of the state of Kansas that the attorney general, as the state’s chief legal officer, should have notice and the opportunity to appear and be fully heard before any statute or constitutional provision of this state is determined by the judicial branch to be invalid.”4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 75-764 – Notice and Opportunity To Appear and Be Heard Before Statute or Constitutional Provision Determined To Be Invalid Courts at every level must notify the Attorney General before striking down a Kansas law.
The rule applies in both criminal and civil cases. In criminal cases, the party challenging the statute must serve notice on the prosecutor, and if the prosecutor does not respond, the court notifies the Attorney General directly. In civil cases, notice goes straight to the Attorney General.4Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 75-764 – Notice and Opportunity To Appear and Be Heard Before Statute or Constitutional Provision Determined To Be Invalid In practice, that notice typically reaches the Solicitor General, who runs the state’s constitutional litigation.
Amicus Briefs and Multi-State Coalitions
Kansas also weighs in on cases where it is not a party. Crouse’s questionnaire describes supervising “the State’s participation as an amicus curiae in the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts.”3U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Toby Crouse Senate Judiciary Questionnaire Attorneys general across the country often file joint amicus briefs on questions that could affect their states, and Kansas has led several of these efforts. Attorney General Kobach, for example, led a 25-state coalition urging the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case on states’ ability to verify voter citizenship.5Attorney General of Kansas. Kobach Leads 25-State Coalition in Amicus Brief The National Association of Attorneys General maintains databases that help states coordinate this kind of work.6National Association of Attorneys General. Multistate Litigation and Settlements
The decision to join or lead an amicus effort belongs to the Attorney General, but the analytical work, agency consultation, and drafting live inside the Solicitor General’s division.
A Notable Case: Kansas v. Glover
The highest-profile result from the office in recent years is Kansas v. Glover, 140 S. Ct. 1183 (2020), which Crouse argued before the U.S. Supreme Court during his tenure as Solicitor General. The Court held that when a police officer lacks information suggesting the registered owner is not the one driving, an investigative traffic stop based on a revoked license is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.3U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Toby Crouse Senate Judiciary Questionnaire The ruling carried nationwide consequences for how officers conduct traffic stops.
How the Role Differs From Private Advocacy
A common misunderstanding of the position is that the Solicitor General works the way a hired litigator does. The office represents the state, but it also owes a duty of candor to the court, and when those obligations pull against each other, honesty to the tribunal wins. A private attorney can frame facts aggressively for a client. A government appellate lawyer is expected to acknowledge adverse authority and avoid misleading arguments. The office’s long-term credibility with the Kansas appellate courts and the federal bench depends on being a reliable voice, and judges notice quickly when a state’s briefs lean more on spin than substance.