A Brief History
More than 200 years ago, Congress enacted the Judiciary Act of 1789, directing the President of the United States to appoint in each federal district "a meet person learned in the law to act as an attorney for the United States." This person - the United States Attorney - was "to prosecute in (each) district all delinquents for crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned."
Soon after the passage of the Judiciary Act, President George Washington appointed 13 distinguished men to fill these new posts in the newly created federal judicial districts. Writing to the first United States Attorney for the District of New York, Washington noted that "[t]he high importance of the judicial system in our national government makes it an indispensable duty to select such characters to fill the several offices in it as would discharge their respective duties in honor to themselves and advantage to their country."
In 1820, the President was given authority to designate a Treasury official to oversee the activities of the United States Attorneys. The Congress created the position of the Solicitor of the Treasury in 1830 and empowered him to have control over all United States Attorneys. In 1861, the United States Attorneys began to work under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General's full supervisory authority was cemented in 1870 with the creation of the United States Department of Justice.
Before the Civil War, the United States Attorneys prosecuted only those offenses specified in the Constitution, such as piracy, counterfeiting and treason. Congress has since added many federal offenses by statute.
Today, there are 94 federal districts served by 93 United States Attorneys. Two Presidents of the United States have served as United States Attorney: Andrew Jackson was the first United States Attorney for the District of Tennessee and Franklin Pierce served as the United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire.
Prominent United States Attorneys
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has an extraordinarily rich history and a long tradition of duty and honor.
The District of Virginia (all of Virginia originally constituted one district) was one of the original 13 judicial districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. In 1871, Virginia was divided into two districts: the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia. Today, the Eastern District of Virginia has offices in Alexandria, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond.
John Marshall, appointed by President Washington, was the first United States Attorney for the District of Virginia, though it appears from historical records that he never took the oath of office. Marshall, who served as leader of the Federalist Party, was later nominated by President John Adams in 1801 to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and served in that position for 34 years.
William Wirt served as the United States Attorney for the District of Virginia from 1816 to 1817. An accomplished author, he had previously served as appointed counsel in the 1807 trial of Aaron Burr for treason. In 1817, President Monroe appointed Wirt to be the Attorney General of the United States. Wirt ran for President in 1832 on the anti-Masonic ticket, but lost.
Two former United States Attorneys from the Eastern District of Virginia won election to the United States Congress. John Wise (1882-1883) was elected to Congress in 1882 and Edmund Waddill (1883-1885) was elected to Congress in 1890. Two other former United States Attorneys from the Eastern District of Virginia became federal judges. Lawrence Groner (1912-1914; 1920; 1921) ultimately became the Chief Justice of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and Henry Hudson (1986-1991) is currently a United States District Judge in the Richmond Division of the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Hudson also served as the Director of the United States Marshals Service. Richard Cullen (1991-1993) subsequently served as the Attorney General of Virginia. Finally, Paul McNulty, who led the Eastern District of Virginia so well after 9/11 (2001-2006), is currently the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.
Justin Williams served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1986. For many years our beloved and legendary Criminal Chief, Justin died suddenly in August 2003. His compassion, dedication and decency inspired a generation (or two or three) of federal prosecutors in this District and around the nation. The Eastern District of Virginia annually presents the Justin Williams Award for Excellence to the Assistant United States Attorney who best demonstrates the values and traditions embodied by Justin. Justin is sorely missed.
Prominent Cases
In 1866, United States Attorney Lucius Chandler indicted Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Confederate States of America, for treason. Davis had been captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia, in 1865 and imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia, until 1867. Released on bail, he was never brought to trial due to legal difficulties.
More recently, the Eastern District of Virginia has handled numerous notable national security cases, including: The John Walker Spy Ring (Arthur Walker convicted in this District), CIA spy Aldrich Ames (1994), CIA spy Harold Nicholson (1997), FBI spy Earl Pitts (1997), NRO spy David Sheldon Boone (1998), FBI spy Robert Hanssen (2001), and NRO spy Brian Patrick Regan (2003).
Since the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, the Eastern District of Virginia has been at the forefront of the war on terror:
- July 2002 - John Walker Lindh was sentenced to 20 years in prison for supplying services to the Taliban while fighting on the Taliban's front lines in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance.
- October 2003 - Iyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison for providing material support to al Qaeda.
- In the Virginia Jihad case, ten men - including Ali Al-Timimi - were convicted on various charges, including conspiracy to levy war against the United States and to provide material support to the Taliban and to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
- October 2004 - Abduraham Alamoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
- November 2005 - Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda, and conspiracy to destroy aircraft and to assassinate the President of the United States.
- June 2006 - Ali Asad Chandia was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In May 2006, Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in the al Qaeda 9/11 conspiracy - a horrific crime in which 2,972 innocent men, women and children were murdered and thousands more injured. The Eastern District of Virginia-based Moussaoui prosecution team handled the most complex and cumbersome criminal case ever brought in an Article III court with grace and dignity, in the finest traditions of this District and of the Department of Justice.
Prominent Alumni
Many former Eastern District of Virginia Assistant United States Attorneys have gone on to serve in other capacities, including:
- Randy Bellows (a Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge)
- Leonie Brinkema (a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Harvey Bryant (the Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach)
- Theresa Buchanan (a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Paul Cassell (a former United States District Judge for the District of Utah)
- David Cayer (a Resident Superior Court Judge in Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Robert Colby (a former Alexandria General District Court Judge)
- Jim Comey (a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Deputy Attorney General of the United States)
- Denny Dohnal (a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Frank Dunham (the first Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Dabney Friedrich (a member of the United States Sentencing Commission)
- Connie Frogale (an Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge)
- Curtis Gomez (a United States District Judge for the District of the Virgin Islands)
- Chuck Griffith (the former Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Norfolk and a City of Norfolk Circuit Court Judge)
- Roscoe Howard (a former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia)
- Ray Jackson (a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Hannah Lauck (a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- David Lowe (a former United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Brian Miller (the Inspector General of the General Services Administration)
- Tommy Miller (a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Liam O'Grady (a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Janet Rehnquist (a former Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services)
- David Schneider (a former United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Jeri Somers (an Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Transportation)
- James Spencer (a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia)
- Fred Swersky (a City of Alexandria Circuit Court Judge)
- Karen Tandy (the former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration)
- Paul Trible (a former United States Senator from Virginia)
- Bob Trono (the former Deputy Director of the United States Marshals Service)
- Toby Vick (the former Commonwealth Attorney for Henrico County)