healt insurance avto insurance
healt insurance insurance
 
  car insurance
 
insurance
insurance		 Life Insurance
insurance
insurance
insurance		 Health Insurance
insurance
insurance
insurance		 Auto Insurance
insurance
  
insurance
insurance		 Car Insurance
insurance
insurance
insurance		 Medical Insurance
insurance
insurance
insurance		 Site Map
insurance
Main Attorney
life insurance
life insurance quotes auto insurance quotes travel incurance pet incurance
  mutual insurance
insurance patents   insurance cargo
education insurance
vehicle insuranceUNITED STATES ATTORNEY
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

United States Attorneys (also known as federal prosecutors) represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed 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 his or her particular jurisdiction, acting under the guidance of the United States Attorneys' Manual. They supervise district offices of as many as 350 assistant U.S. attorneys, with as many as 350 more support personnel. 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.
education insurance
vehicle insuranceHISTORY AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

The Office of the United States Attorney and was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, along with the office of Attorney General which also specified the structure of the Supreme Court of the United States, and established inferior courts making up the United States Federal Judiciary, along with a district court system. 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.
education insurance
vehicle insuranceAPPOINTMENT
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

The U.S. Attorney is appointed by the President of the United States for a term of four years, with appointments subject to confirmation by the Senate. A U.S. Attorney shall continue in office, beyond the appointed term, until a successor is appointed and qualified. By law, each United States attorney is subject to removal by the President. The Attorney General has had the authority since 1986 to appoint interim U.S. Attorneys to fill a vacancy.


UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS CONTROVERSY

The governing statute, 28 U.S.C. § 546 provided, up until March 9, 2007:

(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 Act 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 overturn the amendments of the USA PATRIOT Act to the interim appointment statute. The bill was signed by President G.W. Bush, and became law in June 2007.


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:

"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 of 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."
education insurance
vehicle insuranceROLE OF U.S. ATTORNEYS
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

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.

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.
education insurance
vehicle insuranceCRITICISM
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

Congress gave U.S. Attorneys enormous new powers during the War on Drugs, which have resulted in the current situation where the only real discretion in the contemporary federal criminal justice system is in the decision by the U.S. Attorney to indict. The conviction in most federal criminal cases is a foregone conclusion, which is why so many suspects plead guilty.

For example, U.S. Attorneys are able to freeze all assets of criminal suspects before trial and can veto a suspect's choice of defense counsel by simply refusing to authorize the unfreezing of assets to pay for the suspect's chosen counsel. Furthermore, U.S. Attorneys can and have spent decades pursuing a single suspect to convict him of something, anything. As prominent criminal defense attorney Roy Black has pointed out in a case where both of these things actually occurred, "Fred De La Mata is living proof that the federal government will never let go." De La Mata was arrested in 1988; acquitted in 1990; charged again in 1992; and convicted in 1994, and then after a long appellate battle (based on various irregularities in the 1994 trial), most of his convictions were affirmed in 2001. The government is still attempting to confiscate his frozen assets as of 2008.

Former plaintiffs' class-action attorney William Lerach summarized the present situation neatly in his published explanation of his 2008 plea bargain:

"So why did I plead guilty? If you haven’t been a defendant in a federal criminal prosecution, let me tell you, it is not a fair fight. Prosecutors have virtually unlimited discretion . . . . The prosecutors hold all the cards. The judge holds the gavel, and from the defendant’s perspective, it might as well be a bazooka. The judge is free to ignore sentencing guidelines and impose an even harsher sentence. And because prosecutors and the judges both work for the government, there is a disturbing synergy in the entire process. Like a nonconformist during China’s Cultural Revolution, a defendant in a federal criminal case is forced to bow and humbly express guilt, regret, and contrition. You speak only to affirm your guilt and sorrow."
education insurance
vehicle insuranceEXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) provides the administrative support for the 93 United States Attorneys (encompassing 94 United States Attorneys' 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.
education insurance
vehicle insuranceLIST OF CURRENT U.S. ATTORNEYS' OFFICES
home insurance
credit insurance
liability insurance property insurance
medical insurance
travel incurance education insurance vehicle insurance property insurance
casualty insurance