Tennessee Eastern District Overview
The United States Attorney is legal counsel for the United States in his District. The United States Attorney and Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) represent the United States in most lawsuits, criminal and civil, within the Eastern District of Tennessee (TNE). Almost all of the litigation is within the federal court system, although occasionally AUSAs appear in state courts in connection with civil suits. The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) maintains its headquarters office in Knoxville, with branch offices in Chattanooga, Greeneville, and Johnson City, and an unstaffed office at Winchester.
James R. "Russ" Dedrick is the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Mr. Dedrick is responsible for representing the United States' legal interests and prosecuting federal criminal violations throughout the District's 41 counties, which extend from Johnson County in northeastern Tennessee to Lincoln County in the middle of the State. The Eastern District is the largest federal district in Tennessee and serves approximately 2.5 million citizens.
Prior to assuming the position of United States Attorney, Mr. Dedrick served as First Assistant United States Attorney for the District since November 1993. He was also appointed by the Attorney General in April 2001 as U.S. Attorney for the District. He served previously as First AUSA in TNE (1989-1991) before moving to the Eastern District of North Carolina as First AUSA (1992-1993). He also served as a Court appointed U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina from April-November 1993. United States Attorney General Janet Reno named Russ an ad hoc member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee from 1993-1995. Russ also serves on the Office Management and Budget and White Collar Subcommittees of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. He currently is involved with management training for USAOs in conjunction with the Office of Legal Education. Prior to joining the office in 1983, Russ served in the United States Army, Judge Advocate General's Corps (1972-1976), and with the District Attorney General's Office for Knox County, Tennessee (1976-1983).
TNE is one of ninety-four (94) judicial districts in the federal court system and one of three (1 of 3) in the State of Tennessee. The State of Tennessee is divided into three (3) judicial districts: the Eastern District, the Middle District (headquartered in Nashville) and the Western District (headquartered in Memphis). The Eastern District of Tennessee, headquartered in Knoxville, with offices in Chattanooga, Greeneville, Johnson City, and Winchester, is the largest federal district in the State of Tennessee in terms of population and land area covered. The District comprises 41 of the 95 counties in the State of Tennessee. It stretches from the North Carolina-Virginia border near Mountain City, Tennessee, to west of Fayetteville, Tennessee, which is south of Nashville and approximately 100 miles east of Memphis on the Alabama border.
TNE is the largest federal district in terms of population which is currently in excess of 2.5 million people. In comparison, TNW comprises 22 counties and services 1.3 million individuals; while TNM comprises 32 counties and services 1.5 million in population.
The regional population bases located at Tri-Cities (567,105), Knoxville (953,673), and Chattanooga (551,925), comprise the majority of the District's 2.5 million individuals.
Counties in the Eastern District's Court Divisions
Division Headquarters |
Counties Composing Division |
|
|---|---|---|
Chattanooga |
Bledsoe |
Marion |
Greeneville |
Carter |
Hawkins |
Knoxville |
Anderson |
Loudon |
Winchester |
Bedford |
Lincoln |