United States Attorney Announces Appointment of Five New Federal Prosecutors

U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox today announced the appointment of five new Assistant United States Attorneys: Stephen Rancourt, assigned to the Lubbock Criminal Division; Melanie Smith, assigned to the Dallas Criminal Division’s Violent and Major Crimes Section; Damien Diggs, also assigned to the Dallas Criminal Division’s Violent Crimes Section; Braden Civins, assigned to the Dallas Civil Division; and Abe McGlothin, assigned to the Dallas Criminal Division’s Violent and Major Crimes Section.

All five prosecutors were sworn in Monday morning before Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.

A two-time graduate of the University of Richmond, Mr. Rancourt joins Nealy Cox’s prosecutorial team from the District Attorney’s Office in Wichita County, where he spent six years as an Assistant District Attorney, rising to become First Assistant ADA.

Ms. Smith, an alumnus of Gonzaga University and the University of Virginia School of Law, is happy to be returning to the same district where she clerked for former U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis six years ago. In the intervening years, she served in the Department of Justice’s Tax Division in Washington, DC.  

Mr. Diggs joins the Northern District of Texas from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in DC, where he prosecuted homicides and other criminal cases; before that, he worked for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Mr. Diggs earned his undergraduate degree from Towson University and his law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law.

An alumnus of Emory University and the University of Texas School of Law, Mr. Civins previously served as Assistant Attorney General at the Texas Attorney General’s Office’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division, where he handled complex civil litigation under the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act.

Mr. McGlothin joins Northern District from the U.S. Attorney’s Office the Southern District of Mississippi, where he prosecuted a wide range of violent crimes and served as the Project Safe Neighborhood Coordinator. He earned his degrees at Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi School of Law.

“I am thrilled to welcome these five exceptional attorneys to the Northern District of Texas today,” said Nealy Cox. “I’m confident they will bring honor to the important work this office does day in and day out.”