28 U.S.C. § 503
Section 503 · Attorney General
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 31 court decisions — leading case United States v. King (1973)
Most recently applied in Barr v. SEC (August 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The words “The President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate” have been added to conform the section with the Constitution. See article II, section 2, clause 2.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 503, act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 909, related to appointment of attorneys to assist United States attorneys, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), and reenactment in section 543 of this title by section 4(c) of Pub. L. 89–554.
Actions Challenging Appointment of Attorney General on Grounds of Violation of Constitutional Provisions Governing Compensation and Other Emoluments
Pub. L. 93–178, §2, Dec. 10, 1973, 87 Stat. 697, provided that:
“(a) Any person aggrieved by an action of the Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court to contest the constitutionality of the appointment and continuance in office of the Attorney General on the ground that such appointment and continuance in office is in violation of article I, section 6, clause 2, of the Constitution. The United States district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction, without regard to the sum or value of the matter in controversy, to determine the validity of such appointment and continuance in office.
“(b) Any action brought under this section shall be heard and determined by a panel of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28, United States Code. Any appeal from the action of a court convened pursuant to such section shall lie to the Supreme Court.
“(c) Any judge designated to hear any action brought under this section shall cause such action to be in every way expedited.”
Cross References
Compensation of Attorney General, see section 5312 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Office of Justice Programs, see section 3711 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.