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THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

The Department of Justice is the nation's largest law firm. It serves but one client the United States Government. The United States Attorneys serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed in each judicial district throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. Each United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction.

United States Attorneys conduct most of the trial work in which the United States is a party. The United States Attorneys have three statutory responsibilities under Title 28, Section 507 of the United States Code:

the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the Federal Government;

the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and

the collection of debt owed to the Federal Government.
Although the caseload varies among districts, each has every category of cases and handles a mixture of simple and complex litigation. Each United States Attorney exercises wide discretion in the use of his or her resources to further the priorities of the local jurisdictions and needs of their communities.

THE U. S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

The Northern District of Ohio consists of the 40 northernmost counties in Ohio. The U.S. Attorney's office (USAO) for the district is located in Cleveland, Ohio and there are staffed branch offices in Toledo, Akron and Youngstown. The USAO employs approximately 74 attorneys and 90 support personnel throughout the district. The office is divided into organizational units with specific responsibility for carrying out the mission of the office.

The Executive Division

The United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the District and with the assistance of his First Assistant United States Attorneys and Executive Assistant United States Attorney, sets policies and priorities for the office and supervises all operations of the office.

The United States Attorney chairs the District's Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee and leads a variety of district initiatives including the anti-gun initiative, the drug demand reduction initiative, and the district's anti-terrorism initiative.

The Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee (LECC) consists of representatives of major federal state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the District. The LECC is divided into active working subcommittees which focus on asset forfeiture, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, computer crimes, health care fraud, insurance fraud, environmental crimes, gun violence and victim/witness. The LECC provides training to law enforcement officers and sponsors numerous community outreach programs, including the Red Ribbon Campaign.

The District has seven Weed and Seed sites and the U.S. Attorney co-chairs the Weed and Seed Steering Committee. These sites are located in urban and rural communities throughout the district and combat drug abuse through community policing, prevention/intervention/treatment, and neighborhood restoration.

The Criminal Division

The Criminal Division is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal cases in the Northern District of Ohio, with the exception of antitrust matters. The Criminal Division is divided into six organizational units, Organized Crime and Public Corruption, Community Crimes (violent and firearms offenses), General Crimes, Terrorism, Narcotics, and Economic Crimes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) supervise criminal investigations and prosecute crimes in diverse areas including drug trafficking, white collar crime, organized crime, public corruption, child pornography, computer crimes, bank robbery, civil rights, firearms offenses, financial institution fraud, money laundering and gun violence.

Through victim/witness specialists, the Criminal Division ensures that victims and witnesses of crimes are notified of court proceedings and provide assistance and appropriate referrals.

The Civil Division

The Civil Division is responsible for the litigation of civil cases involving the United States and its various agencies throughout the Northern District of Ohio. Civil AUSAs represent the United States, its officers, employees and agencies in a variety of matters, including torts, contracts, debt collection, civil fraud, bankruptcy, foreclosures, immigration, civil rights, eminent domain, environmental enforcement, social security, employment discrimination and constitutional challenges to federal statutes and regulations.

Civil AUSAs are responsible for recovering criminal fines, penalties and restitution to victims of crime. Monies recovered from special assessments and fines are paid to a national crime victims fund which is disbursed by the Department of Justice to crime victim funds throughout the United States.

The Administrative Division

The Administrative Division manages the District's multi-million dollar budget and provides administrative support to all operations of the USAO. The Administrative Division is divided into several units, Information Technology, Finance, Human Resources and Support Services with diverse responsibilities, including computer installation and technical support, information and data management, telecommunications, including video-conferencing, automated litigation support, personnel staffing, job classification, leave administration, payroll, purchasing, facilities management, and performance management.

Page Updated: April 15, 2009