The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York state counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Preet Bharara, who was appointed by Barack Obama in 2009 was the U.S. Attorney for the District until March 11, 2017 when he was fired by President Donald Trump shortly after refusing to resign upon request. Bharara had taken over the post from Lev L. Dassin, who was acting as the interim U.S. Attorney after Michael J. Garcia, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, stepped down in December 2008 to join the partnership of New York law firm Kirkland & Ellis. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has jurisdiction over all cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney.
The New York Times has called the office "one of New York City's most powerful clubs." Dozens of former assistant U.S. attorneys who worked there go on to prominent careers both in private practice and at the federal level.
Because of the office's resources, pursuit of high-profile cases, independence from presidential administrations and transitions, and tenacity, it is sometimes referred to as the "Sovereign District of New York"â€"sometimes along with its accompanying FBI field office.
Organization
The Office is organized into divisions handling civil and criminal matters. The Southern District of New York also has two offices: one in Manhattan, and one in White Plains. The Office employs approximately 220 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
List of U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York
In 1814, the District of New York was divided into the Northern and the Southern District. The next year, the first U.S. Attorneys for the new districts were appointed.â€"
- Jonathan Fisk: 1815â€"1819
- Robert L. Tillotson: 1819â€"1828
- John Duer: 1828 â€" April 1829
- James A. Hamilton: April 1829 â€" 1834
- William M. Price: 1834 â€" December 10, 1838
- Benjamin F. Butler: December 10, 1838 â€" 1841
- Ogden Hoffman: 1841â€"1845
- Benjamin F. Butler: 1845â€"1848
- Charles McVean: Sept.â€"Dec. 1848
- Lorenzo B. Shepard: Dec. 1848 or Jan. 1849 â€" April 1849
- Jonathan Prescott Hall: April 1849 â€" 1853
- Charles O'Conor: 1853â€"1854
- John McKeon: 1854â€"1858
- Theodore Sedgwick: 1858â€"1859
- James I. Roosevelt: 1859â€"1861
- E. Delafield Smith: April 1861 â€" April 1865
- Daniel S. Dickinson: April 1865 â€" April 12, 1866
- Samuel G. Courtney: April 1866 â€" April 25, 1869
- Edwards Pierrepont: April 25, 1869 â€" July 20, 1870
- Noah Davis: July 20, 1870 â€" December 31, 1872
- George Bliss, Jr.: December 31, 1872 â€" January 24, 1877
- Stewart L. Woodford: January 24, 1877 â€" March 12, 1883
- Elihu Root: March 12, 1883 â€" July 6, 1885
- William Dorsheimer: July 6, 1885 â€" March 1, 1886
- Stephen A. Walker: March 1, 1886 â€" September 16, 1889
- Edward J. Mitchell: September 16, 1889 â€" February 1, 1894
- Henry C. Platt (Acting): February 1, 1894â€"July 23, 1894
- Wallace Macfarlane: July 23, 1894 â€" January 1898
- Henry Lawrence Burnett: January 1898 â€" January 1906
- Henry L. Stimson: January 1906 â€" April 8, 1909
- Henry A. Wise: April 8, 1909 â€" May 7, 1913
- Hudson Snowden Marshall: May 7, 1913 â€" 1917
- Francis Gordon Caffey: 1917 â€" June 1921
- William Hayward: June 1921 â€" March 2, 1925
- Emory Buckner: March 2, 1925 â€" April 6, 1927
- Charles H. Tuttle: April 6, 1927 â€" September 29, 1930
- Robert E. Manley (Acting): September 29, 1930 â€" January 1931
- George Z. Medalie: January 1931 â€" November 21, 1933
- Thomas E. Dewey (Acting): November 22, 1933 â€" December 26, 1933
- Martin Conboy: December 26, 1933 â€" May 16, 1935
- Francis William Holbrooke Adams (Acting): May 16, 1935 â€" November 20, 1935
- Lamar Hardy: November 20, 1935 â€" March 1939
- Gregory Francis Noonan: 1938? â€" 1939
- John T. Cahill: March 1939 â€" March 1941
- Mathias F. Correa (Acting): March 1941 â€" July 1941
- Mathias F. Correa: July 1941 â€" June 10, 1943
- Howard F. Corcoran (Acting): June 10, 1943 â€" August 2, 1943â€"
- James B. M. McNally August 2, 1943 â€" October 9, 1944
- John F. X. McGohey (Acting): October 9, 1944 â€" January 1945
- John F. X. McGohey: January 1945 â€" October 1949
- Irving Saypol (Acting): October 1949 â€" April 13, 1950
- Irving Saypol: April 13, 1950 â€" September 18, 1951
- Myles J. Lane: September 18, 1951 â€" April 1, 1953
- J. Edward Lumbard: April 1, 1953 â€" July 11, 1955
- Lloyd F. MacMahon (Interim): July 11, 1955 â€" September 1, 1955
- Paul W. Williams: September 1, 1955 â€" July 9, 1958
- Arthur H. Christy (Acting): July 9, 1958 â€" 1959
- S. Hazard Gillespie, Jr.: 1959 â€" January 31, 1961
- Morton S. Robson (Acting): January 31, 1961 â€" April 18, 1961
- Robert M. Morgenthau: April 18, 1961 â€" 1962 (resigned to run for Governor in New York state election, 1962)
- Vincent Lyons Broderick (Acting): 1962
- Robert M. Morgenthau: 1962 â€" January 16, 1970 (reâ€"appointed by President Kennedy)
- Whitney North Seymour, Jr.: January 16, 1970 â€" June 4, 1973
- Paul J. Curran: June 4, 1973 â€" October 31, 1975
- Thomas J. Cahill (Interim): October 31, 1975 â€" March 1, 1976
- Robert B. Fiske: March 1, 1976 â€" 1980
- William M. Tendy (Acting): 1980
- John S. Martin, Jr.: 1980 â€" June 3, 1983
- Rudy Giuliani: June 3, 1983 â€" January 1, 1989
- Benito Romano (Interim): January 1, 1989 â€" October 16, 1989
- Otto G. Obermaier : October 16, 1989 â€" June 1993
- Mary Jo White: June 1993 â€" January 7, 2002
- James B. Comey: January 7, 2002 â€" December 15, 2003
- David N. Kelley (Interim): December 15, 2003 â€" September 2005
- Michael J. Garcia: September 2005 â€" December 1, 2008
- Lev L. Dassin (Acting): December 1, 2008 â€" August 13, 2009
- Preet Bharara: August 13, 2009 â€" March 11, 2017
- Joon Kim (Acting): March 11, 2017 â€"
Notable assistants
- Bob Arum â€" Boxing promoter
- Neil Barofsky â€" Special Inspector General overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program
- Bernard Bell â€" Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Law and Herbert Hannoch Scholar at Rutgers School of Lawâ€"Newark
- Thomas E. Dewey â€" Governor of New York (1943â€"1954) and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 and 1948
- Louis Freeh â€" former director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Patrick Fitzgerald â€" U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois
- Felix Frankfurter â€" Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
- Rudolph Giuliani â€" former Mayor of New York
- John Marshall Harlan II â€" Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
- Arthur L. Liman â€" criminal defense attorney
- Michael Mukasey â€" former U.S. Attorney General
- Thomas Francis Murphy â€" federal prosecutor and judge in New York City; prosecutor in the two perjury trials of Alger Hiss
- Charles Rangel â€" U.S. Congressman (Dâ€"NY)
- Henry Dwight Sedgwick â€" American lawyer and author
- Franklin A. Thomas â€" former director, Ford Foundation
In popular culture
In the TV series Billions, the US Attorney for Southern District of New York, Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., is portrayed by Paul Giamatti.
References
External links
- United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Official Website
