United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York
Department overview
Formed September 24, 1789 (1789-09-24) by the Judiciary Act of 1789
Jurisdiction Southern District of New York
Department executives
Parent Department United States Department of Justice
Website justice.gov/usao/nys/
Map
Southern District of New York

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan.[1]

Geoffrey Berman currently serves as United States Attorney, since replacing Acting Attorney Joon Kim on January 5, 2018[2] and being indefinitely appointed on April 25, 2018.[3] Preet Bharara was the district's last U.S. Attorney, having been appointed under President Barack Obama in 2009.[4] Bharara served until March 11, 2017, when he was fired by President Donald Trump, shortly after refusing to resign upon request.[5] The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has jurisdiction over all cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney.

The New York Times has called the office "one of New York City's most powerful clubs." Dozens of former assistant U.S. Attorneys who worked there go on to prominent careers both in private practice and at the federal level.[6] Because of the office's resources, pursuit of high-profile cases, independence from presidential administrations and transitions, and tenacity, it is sometimes referred to as the "Sovereign District of New York"[7][8][9][10]—sometimes along with its accompanying FBI field office.[11]

Succession

Preet Bharara had taken over the post from Lev L. Dassin, who was acting as the interim U.S. Attorney after Michael J. Garcia, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, stepped down in December 2008 to join the partnership of New York law firm Kirkland & Ellis.[12]

Organization

United States Southern District of New York counties

The Office is organized into divisions handling civil and criminal matters. The Southern District of New York also has two offices: one in Manhattan, and one in White Plains. The Office employs approximately 220 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.[13]

List of U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York

In 1814, the District of New York was divided into the Northern and the Southern District. The next year, the first U.S. Attorneys for the new districts were appointed.

Notable assistants

In the TV series Billions, a show based on former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara's prosecutions against SAC Capital and other hedge funds, Paul Giamatti plays a character based on Bharara.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "About the District". 2015-05-13. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  2. ↑ "Attorney General Jeff Sessions Appoints Geoffrey S. Berman As Interim United States Attorney". 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  3. ↑ "Statement Of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman On Appointment By Chief Judge". 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  4. ↑ For Manhattan's Next U.S. Attorney, Politics and Prosecution Don't Mix, The New York Times, August 9, 2009.
  5. ↑ Haberman, Maggie. "Preet Bharara Is Fired After Refusing to Step Down as U.S. Attorney". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  6. ↑ A Steppingstone for Law's Best and Brightest, New York Times, January 29, 2009.
  7. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin; Rashbaum, William K. (March 10, 2017). "With Preet Bharara's Dismissal, Storied Office Loses Its Top Fighter". New York Times. In past presidential transitions, the storied office, long known to be so independent of Washington that some people referred to it as the Sovereign District of New York, has in large measure moved forward unaffected by politics.
  8. ↑ Beale, Sara Sun (2011). "What Are the Rules if Everybody Wants to Play?". In Barkow, Anthony S.; Barkow, Rachel E. Prosecutors in the Boardroom: Using Criminal Law to Regulate Corporate conduct. NYU Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780814787038. Finally, in some multijurisdictional cases there have been turf battles rather than cooperation. For example, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York ..... Press accounts have noted the perception that the "'Sovereign District of New York'...doesn't necessar[il]y play well with others."
  9. ↑ Ashcroft, John (2006). Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice. Center Street. p. PT160. ISBN 9780759568730. As U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (sometimes referred to by Justice Departments insiders as 'the sovereign district' of New York because of its high-profile cases and independence).
  10. ↑ Ragavan, Chitra (March 26, 2001). "The pardon buck stops in New York: U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White takes the lead". U.S. News & World Report. Vol. 130 no. 12. p. 24. The Bush administration has left the answer largely in the hands of White, a registered independent, whose office, because of its legendary independence and tenacity, is known as the 'sovereign district.'
  11. ↑ McDermott, Terry; Meyer, Josh (2012). The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Little, Brown. p. PT42. ISBN 9780316202732. This was sometimes referred to—mockingly, but enviously, too—as the Sovereign District of New York. It was in many ways a separate fiedfdom from the rest of the Bureau, creating its own rules and procedures. The agent in charge of the office, unlike all but one other agent in charge, held the rank of an assistant director of the entire FBI."
  12. ↑ The Man Who Took Down Spitzer, The Daily Beast, December 9, 2008
  13. ↑ Organization and Operation, U.S. Attorney's Office
  14. ↑ Tallerico, Brian. "Billions Recap: Agents of Chaos". Vulture. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.