The Attorney General of North Carolina is the elected head of the state's Department of Justice. The North Carolina constitution stipulates that the Attorney General's duties include providing legal representation and advice to all state agencies, though the extent of this duty was called into question when United States Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that state Attorneys General should not squander their state's resources in defense of laws they know to be unconstitutional. The state constitution also holds that, in defense of the public interest, the Attorney General may initiate legal action or intervene in proceedings before any courts, regulatory officers, agencies or bodies — either state or federal — on behalf of the state's agencies and citizens. The Attorney General also r