United States Attorney’s Office Hosts Annual Office Awards Ceremony

Jackson, Miss. - Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst recognized members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and its partners with the presentation of the Southern District’s annual awards for outstanding performance in 2019.

"We have some of the hardest working, most dedicated public servants in government service, and these awards reflect the truly best of the best. Because of their tenacity and commitment to our state and our communities, taxpayer money has been recovered, criminals have been captured and held accountable, and our neighborhoods are safer today. I am proud of their work and the difference they are making in people’s lives," said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

James B. Tucker Award for Superior Prosecutorial Service in Criminal Justice

This award is named for James B .Tucker, the first person to serve as Chief of the Criminal Division in the Southern District. Mr. Tucker distinguished himself in his position and gained a national reputation as a tough but judicious prosecutor throughout the state and throughout the U.S. Department of Justice. The award is presented each year to the Criminal Assistant United States Attorney having demonstrated superior prosecutorial service in the Criminal Division throughout the year.

The 2019 recipient of the James B. Tucker Award is Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Eichner.

AUSA Eichner joined our office in November 2018, and made an immediate and significant impact in his very first year. In FY 2019 alone, he presented forty-one indictments to the grand jury, ranging from gun cases, computer crimes and mail theft, to immigration and violent crime cases. Sixteen of those indictments were generated from AUSA Eichner’s work spearheading Project EJECT in Hattiesburg, which demands coordination with no fewer than three federal agencies, two local law enforcement agencies and two district attorneys’ offices. In addition to his courtroom work, AUSA Eichner authored two appeals and still had time to volunteer in the Hattiesburg area by speaking to a group of kids at the Hattiesburg YMCA about the benefits of staying in school and out of trouble. His work has drawn the attention and praise of police officers, district attorneys, and many others. He is always a team player and never hesitates to assist other AUSAs in trial or covering court appearances. AUSA Eichner’s positive attitude, good-natured spirit, unrelenting grit, unwavering character, impressive intellect and professional accomplishments in 2019 have all earned him this year’s Tucker Award.

Daniel E. Lynn Award for Superior Litigation Service in Civil Litigation

This award is named for Daniel E. Lynn, the first person to serve as Chief of the Civil Division in the Southern District. Mr. Lynn set the highest standards of excellence through selfless competence, integrity, and professionalism. The award is presented each year to the Assistant United States Attorney having demonstrated the most superior litigation service affecting the Civil Division throughout the year.

The 2019 recipient of the Daniel E. Lynn Award is Assistant United States Attorney Tabitha Bandi.

Joining our office in July 2018, AUSA Bandi quickly became responsible for all bankruptcy matters in the District. In 2019, she reviewed hundreds of notices and filings and handled several bankruptcy cases and adversarial proceedings, which historically were handled by more experienced and senior attorneys in the Department of Justice. For example, in an adversarial proceeding in which the liquidating trustee for a bankrupt hospital sued the Department of Health and Human Services for almost $400,000, Tabitha’s legal maneuvers and tough negotiating convinced the trustee to settle the matter for less than 10%.

In addition to managing all bankruptcy matters in the District, AUSA Bandi handled several important and challenging defensive cases, including cases involving employment discrimination and tort actions. She was co-counsel in two cases involving government employees and government-owned vehicles, settling both cases for approximately half the amount demanded by the plaintiffs.

AUSA Bandi also worked on some sensitive matters in which opposing counsel sought certain records from federal agencies and testimony from federal witnesses. For instance, in one case, she moved to quash a trial subpoena seeking testimony and documents from a witness who used to work in the federal government, and, unbeknownst to the DOJ trial lawyers, had been cooperating with the plaintiff, a former federal employee who had been fired for misconduct.

In her first full year in the office, AUSA Bandi has already left an incredible impression on her colleagues. Her initiative and ability to work well with others, including agency counsel, several of whom have praised her collegiality and competence, reflect very well on herself, the Civil Division and our office as a whole.

PauletteWomack Support Staff Award for Superior Performance

This award was named in honor of Paulette Womack, a long-time, much-loved member of the office who served as Secretary to the first Criminal Division Chief and as the Victim Witness Coordinator for the Southern District. She performed her work with tenacity, persistence and professionalism. This award is presented each year to the Support Staff Employee having demonstrated the most superior efforts in support of the mission of the District, whether it be in the area of administration or legal support.

The 2019 recipient of the PauletteWomack Award is Paralegal Specialist Mary Margaret Buchanan.

Ms. Buchanan is the Paralegal Specialist in the Civil Division’s Financial Litigation Unit. She is currently performing tasks which were previously performed by four, long-time, experienced employees. Her current criminal caseload includes almost 2,700 collection cases valued at over $850 million. Her current civil caseload is almost 50 collection cases valued at $2.1 million. In Fiscal Year 2019, the Financial Litigation Unit opened 437 criminal collection cases (a 42% INCREASE from the previous fiscal year), and recovered $2,447,376.16 in criminal debt (a 8.92% INCREASE over the previous fiscal year) and $1,941,201.32 in civil debt.

Ms. Buchanan assisted with several significant civil cases. In her pre-trial and trial support role in a medical malpractice case, she assisted the trial lawyers by organizing, and analyzing medical records. In an employment discrimination case, she assisted the trial attorneys by summarizing and analyzing deposition transcripts and identifying those instances where the witnesses testified about other potential trial witnesses. Additionally, Ms. Buchanan continued to help transition the Office’s bankruptcy practice from a long-time, experienced attorney to newly-hired AUSAs. In that role, she drew upon her extensive bankruptcy and litigation experience and helped the attorneys by reviewing hundreds of bankruptcy filings, including notices and proofs of claim for agency clients.

Ms. Buchanan is a dedicated and dependable employee; she’s a smart contributor; and she is a straight-shooter—all characteristics that Paulette Womack exhibited in her career with the Department of Justice. She has done a masterful job running the Financial Litigation Unit despite losing personnel with decades of experience and almost doubling the number of criminal collection cases.

Donald R. Burkhalter Award for Exemplary Leadership

This award is named after long-time First Assistant United States Attorney Donald R. Burkhalter. This award seeks to recognize, via nomination throughout the office, the employee who has demonstrated extraordinary courage and leadership throughout the year, no matter their position in the office. The award seeks to honor those who lead from action, not a title, who exhibits a positive, upbeat attitude that encourages cooperation and teamwork, and who works tirelessly in advancing the mission and goals of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice.

The 2019 recipient of the Donald R. Burkhalter Award for Exemplary Leadership is Grand Jury Coordinator Karen Coates.

Karen has been with our office since 2002 and has been our Grand Jury Coordinator since 2006. In 2019, Karen reviewed and processed approximately 591 indictments and informations, a record number for the District. She also served as legal assistant to several AUSAs. Even though she is not a "manager," Karen was selected by the supervising legal assistant and former criminal chief to "train" new hires in the office. Karen is also the face of the office when dealing with the clerk of court, and by all accounts, the clerk’s office staff enjoy working with Karen.

Because of her selflessness, her leadership, and her dedication to the mission of the office and DOJ, Karen is more than worthy to receive the 2019 Donald R. Burkhalter Award for Exemplary Leadership.

George L. Phillips Distinguished Community Support Award

This award is named for former U.S. Attorney George L. Phillips, who began his service as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation, went on to serve under three Presidents for 14 years, and is credited with creating DOJ’s Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee. This award seeks to recognize individuals outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office who have contributed significantly to the increased coordination of law enforcement, who have substantially advanced the goals and mission of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and who have exhibited genuine, consistent support of law enforcement generally and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in particular.

The 2019 recipient of the George Phillips Award is Patricia Burchell.

From October 2010 to January 2020, Ms. Burchell was the District Attorney for the 12th Circuit Judicial District, covering Forrest and Perry Counties. Prior to becoming DA, she was an Assistant District Attorney in the 12th Judicial District for seven years. In addition to all of her work leading that office and prosecuting cases, Ms. Burchell pro-actively sought the advice and assistance from the FBI and other state and federal agencies to help rout out corruption she saw in her community. She was instrumental in providing information and assistance that led to the conviction of Forrest County Chief Deputy Sheriff Charles "Plukey" Bolton and his wife, as well as the convictions of other prominent corrupt Hattiesburg individuals such as the Rev. Kenneth Fairley, attorney Jon Lee, and accountant Carl Nicholson, just to name a few. In her time as District Attorney, she has been unwavering in cooperating, collaborating, and assisting this office and its AUSAs in prosecuting crime in Hattiesburg. Most recently, she has been one of

our office biggest supporters in Hattiesburg for the implementation of Project EJECT under DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. Ms. Burchell also agreed to serve and still serves, even in retirement, on our office’s PSN Committee.

Ms. Burchell is most deserving of this award because her character and her work reflected that of George Phillips. She has a reputation throughout our state as someone you can trust and depend on, someone who always has your back, and someone who will always do the right thing, no matter what the cost.

Robert E. Hauberg Award for Distinguished Service

This award is named in honor of the achievements of former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Robert E. Hauberg, the longest serving United States Attorney in the history of our nation. The Hauberg Award is presented annually by this District to an employee who has displayed superior achievement in their assigned duties and who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in some additional public service that makes a significant impact on the community.

The 2019 recipient of the Robert E. Hauberg Award is Assistant United States Attorney Candace Mayberry. AUSA Mayberry joined our office as a Criminal AUSA in 2016. From the moment she started, she was and always has been a team player. She prosecuted everything from murder to corruption of prison guards to hate crimes involving crossburnings to carjackings to civilly defending a national guardsman under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. AUSA Mayberry was quickly designated as the Office’s Civil Rights AUSA, straddling the line and doing civil rights cases in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions.

In addition, after an AUSA left our office, AUSA Mayberry was tapped to be the Office’s PSN Coordinator, leading one of the office’s top initiatives – Project EJECT. In this role, she not only led the efforts on Project EJECT in Jackson, but also coordinated with other AUSAs assigned to EJECT sites throughout the District, and was responsible for dealing with Main Justice on reporting requirements and PSN grant awards. This latter responsibility involved setting up and managing a committee that would review and select grant awardees.

AUSA Mayberry has also been an advocate in her community, volunteering for Project EJECT’s Book buddy Program at Johnson Elementary, presenting the LEAD Program at various high schools and Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Jackson. She also coached the Callaway High School mock trial team in the State Bar’s annual high school mock trial competition (aided by Civil Chief Marc Perez). She has done all of this work with one of the best, most positive and contagious attitudes in the office, always upbeat, optimistic, collaborative, and encouraging of others.

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