U.S. Attorney
David E. O'Meilia
Mr. O’Meilia has served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma since October 2001. Mr. O’Meilia received his undergraduate degree in Pre-Law from Oklahoma State University in 1973. In 1976, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
Mr. O’Meilia has been practicing law in Oklahoma for over 30 years, beginning his career in October 1976 as an Assistant Public Defender in Tulsa County. He later became a full-time instructor in the Criminal Justice and Political Science Departments at the University of Tulsa. In 1980, Mr. O’Meilia joined the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office as a felony trial attorney. He served under both District Attorneys Buddy Fallis and David Moss as a “team captain,” supervising a five-attorney trial team assigned to a particular district judge. During his four-year tenure as an Assistant D.A., Mr. O’Meilia tried numerous high profile cases, concentrating on violent crimes and including the successful prosecutions of the defendant called by the media “the T.U. Rapist.”
In 1984, Mr. O’Meilia joined a general practice law firm, specializing in civil and criminal litigation. In 1986, he became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Oklahoma assigned to the President’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”), later becoming the Lead Task Force Attorney for OCDETF. In addition, Mr. O’Meilia held the position of Senior Litigation Counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Upon leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1996, Mr. O’Meilia became a shareholder in the Tulsa law firm of Nichols, Wolfe, Stamper, Nally, Fallis & Robertson, Inc. where he concentrated his practice in civil litigation, specializing in employment discrimination defense. In 1999, Mr. O’Meilia joined the general practice law partnership of Lyons, Clark, Danielson and O’Meilia.
On October 5, 2001, Mr. O’Meilia was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Attorney General John Ashcroft, appointed Mr. O’Meilia as Acting U.S. Attorney that same day. Following his confirmation by the United States Senate, he was formally sworn in on January 15, 2002, as the Presidentially appointed United States Attorney.
In January, 2002, Mr. O’Meilia established the United States Attorney’s Anti- Terrorism Task Force, which is currently active as the Northern District of Oklahoma Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council, coordinating anti-terrorism initiatives and promoting information sharing among law enforcement, governmental and key business entities. Mr. O’Meilia serves on three subcommittees which advise the United States Attorney General on priority policy issues – Controlled Substances, Native American Issues, and Anti-Terrorism/National Security. He is the past Chairman of the Internet Pharmacy Working Group which coordinates the Department of Justice strategy addressing the unregulated availability of controlled substances online without physician’s physical examination or prescription, and is past Chairman of the Indian Gaming Working Group. Mr. O’Meilia also serves on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Advisory Council.