Matt J. Whitworth
Acting U.S. Attorney Matt J. Whitworth is the chief federal law enforcement official for the Western District of Missouri. Mr. Whitworth leads a staff of 126 employees, including 67 attorneys and 59 non-attorney support personnel. He oversees the prosecution of a broad range of federal crimes, including terrorism and national security matters, corporate fraud, public corruption, violent crime, cybercrime, child exploitation, and narcotics. His office also represents the United States in civil cases.
Mr. Whitworth was appointed as the Acting United States Attorney effective March 1, 2009. He has worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office since 1988. Most recently, he was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division. He also serves on the Department of Justice's Criminal Chiefs Working Group.
Mr. Whitworth was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2006. Fellowship in the College is extended only to those trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Mr. Whitworth has won two Director's Awards for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney from the Department of Justice (1999 and 2002). He was awarded the Lon O. Hocker Memorial Trial Lawyer Award from the Missouri Bar Foundation in 1992. Mr. Whitworth also was selected as a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He is a 1983 graduate of the University Of Arkansas School Of Law and a 1980 graduate of Baker University.