U.S. Attorney For Northern District Of Texas Announces Resignation

DALLAS, Texas —Sarah R. Saldaña has announced her resignation as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, effective immediately. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on August 28, 2014 and was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 16, 2014. The President signed her commission last Thursday, December 18, and the Honorable Chief District Judge Jorge Solis administered the oath of office to her this afternoon.

“I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of good wishes and kind remarks from the North Texas law enforcement and citizen community,” Saldaña said. “I have never had a greater privilege than to serve this community as United States Attorney. And at this particular time, when the perils faced by law enforcement are heightened even beyond that which they face every day, I offer my utmost gratitude and admiration for the extraordinary service provided by police departments, sheriff’s offices, and all state and federal officers everywhere, particularly those with whom I have served side-by-side for the last 10 years in the 100 counties of this district.”

Saldaña has served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas since September 29, 2011. Prior to that appointment, she served as Deputy Criminal Chief of the District’s Major Fraud/Public Corruption Section, having joined the office in 2004. As United States Attorney, Saldaña has directed some of the most high-profile and successful prosecutions in the country. Moreover, faced with significant challenges during her tenure, including hiring freezes, an unprecedented sixteen-day government shutdown, and new Department of Justice policies aimed at managing limited resources on the most important federal law enforcement priorities, Saldaña’s office actually increased the number of cases prosecuted by 51% from 2011 to 2014.

Most recently, Saldaña served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee as one of 17 United States Attorneys appointed by the AG to advise him on policy, management and operational issues affecting the Department of Justice.

From 1985 to 1999, Saldaña was an Attorney at Haynes and Boone, LLP and Baker Botts LLP. She clerked for Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas from 1984 to 1985. From 1974 to 1981, she worked for several federal agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University and her B.A. from Texas A&I University.

Upon Saldaña’s departure, First Assistant United States Attorney John R. Parker will be appointed Acting United States Attorney until a new United States Attorney is selected.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has prosecutive responsibility over 100 counties in the northern and western areas of Texas, encompassing nearly 96,000 square miles and a population in excess of seven million. The District is headquartered in Dallas and has staffed offices in Fort Worth, Lubbock, Abilene, and Amarillo, Texas.