The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania was created in 1801 when Pennsylvania, one of the original thirteen judicial districts, was divided into the Eastern and Western Districts. The Middle District was carved from these districts in May 1901.
On March 11, 1801, James Hamilton was commissioned as the district's first United States Attorney. Since that time, there have been several United States Attorneys in this district which have had notable subsequent careers. These include William A. Stone, who won election to the United States Congress in 1890 and later became Governor of Pennsylvania; Harry Alvan Hall, who had previously served in the Pennsylvania Senate; and the Honorable Dick Thornburgh, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the Attorney General of the United States, and who served as Governor of Pennsylvania for two consecutive terms.
The United States Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh currently consists of more than 100 employees, including more than 50 lawyers - in addition to the United States Attorney and First Assistant United States Attorney - who are called Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs). The principal office is located in downtown Pittsburgh and branch offices are located in Erie and Johnstown.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania has three major divisions - Criminal, Civil, and Appellate - and a non-lawyer Administrative Division.
Western District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney's
| UNITED STATES ATTORNEY | APPOINTED |
|---|---|
| James Hamilton | March 11, 1801 |
| Andrew Stewart | April 20, 1818 |
| Alexander Brackenridge | March 3, 1821 |
| George W. Buchanan | October 22, 1830 |
| Benjamin Patton, Jr. | October 22, 1832 |
| John P. Anderson | June 12, 1839 |
| Cornelius Darragh | March 25, 1841 |
| William O'Hara Robinson | March 29, 1844 |
| John L. Dawson | July 22, 1845 |
| J. Bowman Sweitzer | August 27, 1850 |
| Charles Shaler | April 19, 1853 |
| Richard Biddle Roberts | April 21, 1857 |
| Robert B. Carnahan | April 12, 1861 |
| Henry B. Swope | January 24, 1870 |
| David Reed | March 24, 1874 |
| Henry H. McCormick | June 29, 1876 |
| William A. Stone | July 6, 1880 |
| George A. Allen | December 4, 1886 |
| Walter Lyon | June 21, 1889 |
| Stephen C. McCandless | April 26, 1893 |
| Harry Alvan Hall | June 8, 1893 |
| Daniel B. Heiner | September 14, 1897 |
| James S. Young | February 10, 1902 |
| John W. Dunkle | March 17, 1905 |
| John H. Jordan | April 15, 1909 |
| Edwin Lowry Humes | September 10, 1913 |
| R. Lindsay Crawford | September 2, 1918 |
| Edwin Lowry Humes | August 20, 1919 |
| Robert J. Dodds | June 1, 1920 |
| D. J. Driscoll | August 19, 1920 |
| Walter Lyon | March 11, 1921 |
| John D. Meyer | July 18, 1925 |
| Louise Edward Graham | October 31, 1929 |
| Horatio S. Dumbauld | August 17, 1933 |
| Charles F. Uhl | May 12, 1941 |
| Owen McIntosh Burns | May 16, 1947 |
| Edward C. Boyle | November 3, 1949 |
| John W. McIlvaine | July 16, 1953 |
| D. Malcolm Anderson, Jr. | August 19, 1955 |
| Hubert I. Teitelbaum | March 17, 1958 |
| Joseph S. Ammerman | June 5, 1961 |
| Gustave Diamond | February 2, 1963 |
| Richard L. Thornburgh | June 4, 1969 |
| Blair A. Griffith | July 7, 1975 |
| Robert J. Cindrich | September 29, 1978 |
| J. Alan Johnson | July 31, 1981 |
| Charles D. Sheehy | January 15, 1989 |
| Thomas W. Corbett, Jr. | November 30, 1989 |
| Frederick W. Thieman | August 16, 1993 |
| Linda L. Kelly | August 1, 1997 |
| Harry Litman | October 22, 1998 |
| Linda L. Kelly | April 28, 2001 |
| Mary Beth Buchanan | September 18, 2001 |
| Robert S. Cessar | November 17, 2009 |
| David J. Hickton | August 12, 2010 |
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