Edmund G Jr Jerry Brown

State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown dropped the fiction that he was seeking reelection and filed papers Tuesday to explore a run for governor, a job that he first won in 1974 and has for months been fighting hard, if quietly, to recapture. Brown's move was born of necessity: Contributions to candidates for attorney general are capped at $6,500 per election for individual donors, but gubernatorial contestants can accept up to $25,900. "If he chooses to run, it will make him more competitive against a deep-pocketed Republican opponent," said Steven Glazer, a senior advisor to Brown, a Democrat.

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to invalidate the voter-approved ban on gay marriage, declaring that "the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification." Brown's argument on Proposition 8, contained in an 111-page brief filed at the last possible moment before the court's deadline, surprised many legal experts.

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown's decision to throw the weight of his office behind same-sex marriage has sparked debate over whether his arguments will actually do more harm than good for those hoping to overturn the initiative. Brown's request that the California Supreme Court overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage -- arguing that it undermines fundamental liberties -- has been widely hailed as a victory in the fight for gay rights.

Nearly a quarter-century since his last go-round, Jerry Brown returned to statewide office Monday, still rippling at age 68 with the restless zeal that marked his colorful 1970s tenure as California's indefatigable "Gov. Moonbeam." The old gubernatorial Plymouth and floor mattress in a rental apartment are long gone, but Brown took the oath of office as attorney general with a few quirks up his sleeve.

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown is free to continue working in his new job, even though he was technically an inactive member of the State Bar during the five-year period before he was elected, a judge ruled Friday. State law requires attorneys general to be active members of the bar for the five consecutive years before an election.

A national term limits group filed a lawsuit Wednesday against state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, demanding that his office rewrite the title and summary of a ballot initiative that would alter California's term limits law and could extend the power of sitting legislative leaders. A lawyer for U.S. Term Limits, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, escalating California's legal war with the federal government over global warming policies, was in federal court Monday to challenge U.S. auto mileage standards. Joining other states, cities and environmental groups, California is suing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saying it violated U.S. environmental laws by making only a "trivial" increase in auto mileage standards for model years 2008 through 2011.

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown asked a bankruptcy judge to toss out Calpine Corp.'s "fatally flawed" debt-repayment plan because it would nullify a large electricity contract the San Jose power producer signed with the state during the 2000-to-2001 energy crisis.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has stumbled into an unlikely role in his city's crime drama after a woman charged that he grabbed her cellphone and crushed it as she shot video of him outside a nightclub. The Alameda County district attorney's office is investigating the alleged incident, which occurred early Sunday and was reported to police by the woman, 26-year-old Ayesha Wilson of Manteca, near Stockton. Latrenia Deconge, who was with Wilson, said she witnessed the confrontation with the mayor.

Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo denigrated the record and character of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown on Friday in their first face-to-face encounter in the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. Delgadillo, who has far less name recognition and experience than the widely known Brown, has pulled no punches in his effort to set himself apart in the short stretch that remains before the June 6 primary.