Assistant U.S. Attorney

USAO District of Minnesota
United States Attorney's Office - District of Minnesota
Attorney
316 N. Robert Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
United States
23-MN-11714439-AUSA
About the Office: 

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota is hiring one or more AUSAs in its Appellate Division to work primarily on post-conviction motions for collateral relief and other post-conviction matters.   Knowledge of and/or experience with federal criminal law and related issues are helpful for this position, as is a high level of discernment and judgment to make reasoned and fair judgments responding to prisoner motions.  

This position is located in St. Paul, Minnesota.

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.

Job Description: 

Applicants must demonstrate exceptional legal, analytical, research, and writing skills.  In addition, applicants must possess the ability to manage and prioritize a sizable workload and to meet deadlines under pressure.  Applicants should also demonstrate compassion and the ability to make fair and balanced evaluations of written applications submitted by prisoners. 

Responsibilities include the performance of challenging and varied legal assignments in the interpretation and proper application of federal and state law with respect to convicted federal prisoners who file post-conviction motions attacking the prisoner’s conviction and/or sentence, including, for example, motions brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and motions for release brought under 18 U.S.C. § 3582.

While most work will be written, some motions will require an evidentiary hearing, which the applicant will handle, to include securing and preparing witnesses and evidence and conducting direct and cross-examinations. Applicant’s duties may also include appearing on behalf of the United States on petitions for the revocation of supervised release, where a former federal criminal defendant has served a sentence and is currently under the supervision of a probation officer. 

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

The U.S. Attorney's Office places a high priority on assembling a diverse team of AUSAs with varied backgrounds, experiences, and skills. On a daily basis, Appellate Division AUSAs are required to make impactful decisions in cases involving attacks on conviction and confinement. The U.S. Attorney's Office believes that its team makes better, fairer, and more just decisions when its judgment is the product of a vigorous dialogue among a collaborative and diverse group of peers.

Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

We may use this vacancy to fill other vacant AUSA positions.

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/careers/careers.html

All initial attorney positions to the Department of Justice are made on a 14-month (temporary) basis.

In all matters, it is our mission to represent the people of the United States in a manner that will instill confidence in the fairness and integrity of our office and the judicial system and to conduct our work with the highest integrity. We strive to perform our mission in the most efficient and effective manner.

We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions.

For more information, please visit our website: www.justice.gov/usao-mn.

Qualifications: 

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1 year post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.

United States citizenship is required.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

EDUCATION

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree.

Salary: 
Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $71,508 to $167,781, which includes locality pay.
Travel: 
You may be expected to travel for this position.
Application Process: 

Applications are being acctepted via USAJobs at: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/687285100

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.

Application Deadline: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Relocation Expenses: 
Relocation expenses will not be paid.
Number of Positions: 
1 or more.
Updated November 3, 2022

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Department Policies

Equal Employment Opportunity:  The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer.  Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor.  The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.

Reasonable Accommodations:  This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency.  Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities:  The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements.  Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority.  Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.   

Suitability and Citizenship:  It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment.  Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.

Veterans:  There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).

USAO Residency Requirement:  Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof.  See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.