Kelly O. Hayes

U.S. Attorney

Ms. Hayes was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland on February  28, 2025.  Prior to her appointment, she served as the Chief of the Southern Division for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland since 2021.

Ms. Hayes began serving the District of Maryland in 2013 as an Assistant United States Attorney.   Additionally, she served as Principal Deputy Chief for the Southern Division, Deputy Chief for the Southern Division, and Deputy Appellate Chief for the District. As Chief of the Southern Division, Ms. Hayes oversaw all criminal investigations and prosecutions in the Southern Division, including prosecutions related to MS-13, violent crime and illegal firearm possession and trafficking offenses, human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud, and illegal immigration offenses.

Raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, Ms. Hayes completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland at College Park.  She then earned her law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Following law school, Ms. Hayes clerked for the Honorable Janis L. Sammartino in the Southern District of California.