Authority
Opinions of the Attorney General are persuasive authority and do not have precedential or binding effect; however, they are often cited and sometimes given great weight by the Washington State Court of Appeals and the Washington State Supreme Court.
It is important to distinguish between formal opinions (cited as AGOs) and Attorney General Letter Opinions (AGLOs). AGLOs are not officially approved by the Attorney General and have little, if any, authority. The Attorney General's Office ceased publishing AGLOs in 1983. Care should be taken to properly cite a formal opinion as an AGO and a letter opinion as an AGLO.
