Records of the Attorney General's Office 1864-1993 1,130 cu. ft.
The records of the Attorney General's office came to the Nevada State Archives in several accessions, the last of which was in 1993. No attempt has been made to integrate the records from one accession with records of earlier acquisitions; however, the filing patterns of the AG's office have remained more or less consistent over time and generally include the following series: general correspondence, agency correspondence, case files, opinions of the Attorney General, and biennial reports. In-house inventories and databases compiled by the AG's office and the State Archives staff are available in the Archives.
Attorney General Opinions 1864-1899 1 vol.
The Attorney General was required to issue legal opinions when requested to do so by state officers and agencies. Nevada's first AG, George A. Nourse, kept a record of his opinions in a hand-written volume which would be used by succeeding AGs as established precedents, especially in the 19th century. Opinions were also published in the AG's biennial reports (beginning in the 1870s), as separate government publications, and on a compact disk entitled "Nevada Law." Opinions are also found in the correspondence between the AG and state agencies, in the General Correspondence series, and in box AGO-0475, described below.
Item: AGO-0001 Date: 1864-1899
Type: Volume
Remarks: Opinions of the Attorney General. Most opinions in this volume are in polished form although later pages appear to be rough notes for opinions. Pages 185-204 were scissored out by an unknown party between 1919 and 1978 while the volume resided at the Nevada Historical Society. In roughly chronological order.
General Correspondence Dates: 1908-1961 25.5 cu. ft.
General correspondence of the Attorney General. Arranged chronologically and alphabetically.
Agency Correspondence Dates: 1889-1964; bulk 1923-1962 41.5 cu. ft.
This series contains correspondence between the Attorney General's office and state agencies, the governor and other state officials, district attorneys of Nevada counties and various state boards. Also included is a small amount of correspondence with the Council of State Governments and the Interstate Conference on Crime, and official opinions. Arranged roughly by name of the state agency or official and then chronologically.
State Land Applications 1911-1914 1 vol.
Item: AGO-0002
Remarks: Record of Applications for State Lands. One of the AG's duties was to receive from the State Land Office, a list of land patents filed with that office. This volume includes application numbers 18598 to 19240. Each entry includes the application number and date, name of applicant, post office address, description/location of the land, price per acre, list from which the land was selected and approved, contract number, date of forfeiture, and remarks. Arranged by application number.
Miscellaneous 1867-1929 1 box
Item: AGO-0475
This box contains folders of miscellaneous types of records: biennial reports, 1871-1895 (incomplete); opinions, 1867-1929; reports by Storey and Washoe County District Attorneys on criminal activity, 1890-1899; and correspondence, 1879.
