United States Attorney

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File:Flag of a United States Attorney.svg
Flag of a United States attorney.

United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal criminal prosecutor in their judicial district and represents the U.S. federal government in civil litigation in federal and state court within their geographic jurisdiction. U.S. attorneys must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, after which they serve four-year terms.

Currently, there are 91 U.S. attorneys and 2 vacancies in 94 district offices located throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. One U.S. attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where a single U.S. attorney serves both districts. Each U.S. attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer within a specified jurisdiction, acting under the guidance of the United States Attorneys' Manual.[1] They supervise district offices with as many as 350 assistant U.S. attorneys (AUSAs) and as many as 350 support personnel.[2]

U.S. Attorney's Offices are staffed mainly by assistant U.S. attorneys (AUSA). Often colloquially called "federal prosecutors", assistant U.S. attorneys are government lawyers who act as prosecutors in federal criminal trials and as the United States federal government's lawyers in civil litigation in which the United States is a party. In carrying out their duties as prosecutors, AUSAs have the authority to investigate persons, issue subpoenas, file formal criminal charges, plea bargain with defendants, and grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals.[3]

U.S. attorneys and their offices are part of the Department of Justice. U.S. attorneys receive oversight, supervision, and administrative support services through the Justice Department's Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Selected U.S. attorneys participate in the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys.

History and statutory authority

The Office of the United States Attorney was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, along with the office of Attorney General and United States Marshal. The same act also specified the structure of the Supreme Court of the United States and established inferior courts making up the United States Federal Judiciary, including a district court system. Thus, the office of U.S. Attorney is older than the Department of Justice. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for the appointment in each judicial district of a "Person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States...whose duty it shall be to prosecute in each district all delinquents for crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned..." Prior to the existence of the Department of Justice, the U.S. attorneys were independent of the attorney general, and did not come under the AG's supervision and authority until 1870, with the creation of the Department of Justice.[4][5]

Appointment

U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president of the United States[6] for a term of four years,[7] with appointments subject to confirmation by the Senate. A U.S. attorney continues in office, beyond the appointed term, until a successor is appointed and qualified.[8] By law, each United States attorney is subject to removal by the president.[9] The attorney general has had the authority since 1986 to appoint interim U.S. attorneys to fill a vacancy.

United States attorneys controversy

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The governing statute, 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim provided, up until March 9, 2006:

(c) A person appointed as United States attorney under this section may serve until the earlier of—

(1) the qualification of a United States attorney for such district appointed by the President under section 541 of this title; or
(2) the expiration of 120 days after appointment by the Attorney General under this section.

(d) If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.

On March 9, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005[10] which amended Section 546 by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the following new subsection:

(c) A person appointed as United States attorney under this section may serve until the qualification of a United States Attorney for such district appointed by the President under section 541 of this title.

This, in effect, extinguished the 120-day limit on interim U.S. attorneys, and their appointment had an indefinite term. If the president failed to put forward any nominee to the Senate, then the Senate confirmation process was avoided, as the Attorney General-appointed interim U.S. attorney could continue in office without limit or further action. Related to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, in March 2007 the Senate and the House voted to re-instate the 120-day term limit on interim attorneys via the Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007.[11] The bill was signed by President George W. Bush, and became law in June 2007.[12]

History of interim U.S. attorney appointments

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D, California), summarized the history of interim United States Attorney appointments, on March 19, 2007 in the Senate.[13]

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When first looking into this issue, I found that the statutes had given the courts the authority to appoint an interim U.S. attorney and that this dated back as far as the Civil War. Specifically, the authority was first vested with the circuit courts in March 1863.

Then, in 1898, a House of Representatives report explained that while Congress believed it was important to have the courts appoint an interim U.S. attorney:

"There was a problem relying on circuit courts since the circuit justice is not always to be found in the circuit and time is wasted in ascertaining his whereabouts."

Therefore, at that time, the interim appointment authority was switched to the district courts; that is, in 1898 it was switched to the district courts.

Thus, for almost 100 years, the district courts were in charge of appointing interim U.S. attorneys, and they did so with virtually no problems. This structure was left undisturbed until 1986 when the statute was changed during the Reagan administration. In a bill that was introduced by Senator Strom Thurmond, the statute was changed to give the appointment authority to the Attorney General, but even then it was restricted and the Attorney General had a 120-day time limit. After that time, if a nominee was not confirmed, the district courts would appoint an interim U.S. attorney. The adoption of this language was part of a larger package that was billed as technical amendments to criminal law, and thus there was no recorded debate in either the House or the Senate and both Chambers passed the bill by voice vote.

Then, 20 years later, in March 2006 – again without much debate and again as a part of a larger package – a statutory change was inserted into the PATRIOT Act reauthorization. This time, the Executive's power was expanded even further, giving the Attorney General the authority to appoint an interim replacement indefinitely and without Senate confirmation.

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Role of U.S. attorneys

The U.S. attorney is both the primary representative and the administrative head of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the district. The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) is the chief prosecutor for the United States in criminal law cases, and represents the United States in civil law cases as either the defendant or plaintiff, as appropriate.[14][15] However, they are not the only ones that may represent the United States in Court. In certain circumstances, using an action called a qui tam, any U.S. citizen, provided they are represented by an attorney, can represent the interests of the United States, and share in penalties assessed against guilty parties.

As chief federal law enforcement officers, U.S. attorneys have authority over all federal law enforcement personnel within their districts and may direct them to engage, cease or assist in investigations.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In practice, this has involved command of Federal Bureau of Investigation assets but also includes other agencies under the Department of Justice, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Drug Enforcement Administration.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Additionally, U.S. attorneys cooperate with other non-DOJ law enforcement agencies – such as the United States Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – to prosecute cases relevant to their jurisdictional areas.

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia has the additional responsibility of prosecuting local criminal cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the equivalent of a municipal court for the national capital. The Superior Court is a federal Article I court.[16]

Executive Office for United States Attorneys

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The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA)[17] provides the administrative support for the 93 United States attorneys (encompassing 94 United States Attorney offices, as the Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands has a single U.S. attorney for both districts), including:

  • General executive assistance and direction,
  • Policy development,
  • Administrative management direction and oversight,
  • Operational support,
  • Coordination with other components of the United States Department of Justice and other federal agencies.

These responsibilities include certain legal, budgetary, administrative, and personnel services, as well as legal education.

The EOUSA was created on April 6, 1953, by Attorney General Order No. 8-53 to provide for close liaison between the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, and the 93 U.S. attorneys located throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was organized by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge James R. Browning, who also served as its first chief.

List of current U.S. attorneys' offices

Jurisdiction Officeholder Term start
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin P. Davidson^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Prim F. Escalona‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama Sean P. Costello‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska Michael J. Heyman‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Timothy Courchaine‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Jonathan D. Ross‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas David Clay Fowlkes‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bilal Essayli^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Eric Grant‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Craig H. Missakian‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David X. Sullivan‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Julianne Murray^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Gregory Kehoe‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida John P. Heekin* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Will Keyes‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore S. Hertzberg‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Meg E. Heap‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands Shawn N. Anderson Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Ken Sorenson‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Bart Davis* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois Gregory M. Gilmore^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Andrew S. Boutros‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Steven D. Weinhoeft‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Scott Proctor^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Thomas E. Wheeler* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa Leif Olson* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa David Waterman* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas Ryan Kriegshauser* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Paul McCaffrey^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky Kyle G. Bumgarner† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Michael M. Simpson^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana Kurt Wall* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Zachary Keller† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Andrew Benson† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly O. Hayes‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi Scott Leary* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi James "Baxter" Kruger* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Thomas Albus* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri R. Matthew Price† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Kurt Alme* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska Lesley A. Woods* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Sigal Chattah^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire Erin Creegan* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey vacant Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Ryan Ellison^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr.‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York Michael DiGiacomo‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina William Ellis Boyle† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina Dan Bishop† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Nicholas W. Chase* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio David M. Toepfer* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Dominick Gerace II* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma Christopher Wilson‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma Clint Johnson‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma Robert J. Troester‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott Bradford† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Brian D. Miller† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Troy Rivetti^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Sara Bloom^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina Bryan P. Stirling* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Ron A. Parsons Jr.* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee Francis M. Hamilton III Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Braden Boucek* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee D. Michael Dunavant* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Jay R. Combs† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Nicholas J. Ganjei‡ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Justin R. Simmons† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Melissa Holyoak† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont Michael P. Drescher^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands Adam Sleeper* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Robert N. Tracci^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington vacant Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Charles Neil Floyd† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia Matthew Harvey* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Moore Capito* Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Brad Schimel† Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin Chadwick Elgersma^ Template:Dts
U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming Darin Smith† Template:Dts
Legend
Asterisk (*) Senate confirmed
Dagger (†) Interim - appointed by Attorney General under 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(a)
Double Dagger (‡) Court appointed under 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(d)
Caret (^) Acting
File:US Court of Appeals and District Court map.svg
Map of the boundaries of the United States courts of appeals (by color) and United States District Courts. All District Courts lie within the boundary of a single jurisdiction, usually in a state (heavier lines); some states have more than one District Court (lighter lines denote those jurisdictions)

Defunct U.S. attorneys' offices

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ http://www.americanbar.org/publications/criminal_justice_section_archive/crimjust_standards_pinvestigate.html Standards on Prosecutorial Investigations
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  6. ↑ 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(a).
  7. ↑ 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(b).
  8. ↑ 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(b)
  9. ↑ 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim(c).
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  13. ↑ Congressional Record, March 19, 2007, 2007 Congressional Record, Vol. 153, Page Script error: No such module "String"./Script error: No such module "String". S3240 -S3241)
  14. ↑ see generally 28 U.S.C. Template:Trim/Template:Trim § Template:Trim
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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