Background
The United States Attorneys serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. There are 93 United States Attorneys stationed throughout the United States and its territories. United States Attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the United States, with advice and consent of the United States Senate. Each United States Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction, and exercises wide discretion in the use of his/her resources to further the priorities of the local jurisdictions and needs of their communities.
The United States Attorneys have three statutory responsibilities under Title 28, Section 547 of the United States Code:
- the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the federal government;
- the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and
- the collection of debts owed the federal government which are administratively uncollectible.
District of Maryland
The mission of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland includes four critical goals.
Our primary goal is to secure the safety and improve the quality of life of our fellow citizens. That requires us to focus on deterrence. Our mission is not only to vindicate the rights of actual victims, but also to save other people from being victimized in the future. There is a difference between fighting crime and just prosecuting criminals. Our job is to fight crime.
A second critical goal of our office is to safeguard the money and property of the United States. That mission is accomplished largely by our outstanding civil litigators.
Third, we must foster public confidence in law enforcement and the judicial system. We need to take every opportunity to be forthcoming with the public about what we are doing, and why we are doing it.
The fourth aspect of our mission is to seek justice in every case. Each case is a priority for the people who are working on it and the people who are affected by it.
