Office Overview
The United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District of Arizona and is appointed by the President. United States Attorneys and their Assistants prosecute violations of federal law and represent federal agencies in federal courts as well as state courts, when appropriate. They also collect debts owed the federal government which are administratively uncollectible. United States Attorneys are not permitted to represent private individuals or business, nor are they permitted to give legal advice to members of the public.
Description of Division and Group Duties
Phoenix | Tucson | Yuma | Flagstaff | Support Units
Phoenix
The Phoenix office is divided into three divisions:
- Criminal
- Civil
- Appellate
The Criminal Division handles federal criminal cases, and has five groups which divide that work among themselves:
- Group I handles violent crime and counter-terrorism cases.
- Group II handles economic fraud and public corruption cases.
- Group III handles drug cases and targets threat groups such as drug cartels.
- Group IV handles immigration cases, including smuggling cases.
- Group V handles firearms and asset forfeiture cases.
The Civil Division is divided into two groups:
- The Affirmative Civil Enforcement, or ACE Unit pursues the recovery of federal funds or other affirmative relief.
- The remainder of the Division handles general civil matters involving the defense of the United States and its agencies.The Appellate Division oversees those cases appealed from district court to the Ninth Court of Appeals.
Tucson
The Tucson office is also divided into three divisions:
- Criminal
- Civil
- Appellate
The Criminal Division has four sections:
- Group I: Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Project Safe Childhood (child exploitation), and Project Safe Neighborhood & Violent Crime Impact Team (weapon offenses).
- Group II and III: Border Crimes involving immigration (illegal re-entry, alien smuggling, child smuggling), drugs, assaults on federal officers, violent crimes/Indian Country, as well as other miscellaneous type federal border related crimes and general crimes (escape, failure to register as a sex offender, mail theft).
- Group IV: Investigations involving Public Corruption, White Collar, Identity Theft, Tax Fraud, Mortgage/HUD Fraud, Employer and Worksite Enforcement and larger Alien Smuggling and Drug investigations.
The Appellate Division handles appeals arising from cases in the Criminal and Civil Divisions.
Yuma
The Yuma office serves the Southwestern section of the District of Arizona. Given its proximity to the border, the office handles initial charging, intake and processing of a high number of immigration, drug and other federal offenses. Like the Flagstaff office, the Yuma office is a resource to the law enforcement agencies and victims of federal crimes in the Southwestern portion of the state.
Flagstaff
The Flagstaff office serves Northern Arizona. It handles intake an initial charging decisions on cases arising from Indian Country, federal lands, or otherwise federally covered offenses in that part of the district. The office is a resource to the law enforcement agencies Northern Arizona and provides training and assistance to those agencies when requested. The office also provides assistance and information to victims of federal crimes arising in Northern Arizona.
Support Units
The District of Arizona Administrative Division works closely with all levels of staff to directly support the mission of the of the U. S. Attorney's Office. This division is responsible for all administrative programs for the district. Departments within the division include; Human Resources, Information Technology and Docketing, Procurement and Support Services, and Finance and Budget Analysis. In addition to the administrative staff in Phoenix, the division has additional staff in Tucson that serve to support the mission of the Tucson office.
The Automated Litigation Support Unit works closely with attorneys and support staff in the District so that they are able to utilize automation from the inception of a case through to its final resolution. The unit's main areas of support are imaging, document management and analysis, multimedia/graphics design, trial presentation, and training. The unit helps attorneys utilize automation to obtain, organize, analyze, and present evidence. They also assist with the selection of software best suited for a case in terms of data management and trial presentation. Training is provided to attorneys, agents, and all members of the trial-team on the use of the software and automated courtroom equipment.