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Civil Division
The primary responsibility of the Civil Division is to represent the United States in all civil actions brought by or against the United States in both federal and states courts of law. Fourteen Assistant United States Attorneys, three Paralegal Specialists and eight Legal Assistants are involved in the prosecution and defense of over 1000 civil cases per year. Cases handled by the Civil Division include actions on promissory notes, foreclosure cases, bankruptcy cases, social security cases, environmental cases, employment and labor law cases, medical malpractice cases, tort cases, actions brought by individuals in federal custody, actions brought under the Freedom of Information Act, actions seeking review of administrative actions of federal agencies, actions to defend or enforce subpoenas, and actions challenging deportation decisions of the Department of Homeland Security.
Within the Civil Division are the General Civil Unit, the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit and the Financial Litigation Unit (FLU). Attorneys in the General Civil Unit handle all types of civil litigation in the district. Additionally, some attorneys in the General Civil Unit have assigned specialization in the areas of medical malpractice, employment discrimination, administrative procedures litigation and torts.
The (ACE) Unit prosecutes civil actions to recover money damages and monetary penalties for fraud and other acts of misconduct committed against the United States. Such cases are typically initiated by federal investigation, citizen complaints, or by "whistle blowers" under applicable law. The ACE Unit works closely with Criminal Division to coordinate parallel investigations and cases arising from the same or related circumstances. The Unit also participates with the Criminal Division in health care fraud investigations.
The FLU is actively involved in the collection of civil judgments and criminal debts, such as fines, restitution and penalties, owed to the United States. The work of the unit is quite important to taxpayers and victims of crime. During FY 2003, the Financial Litigation Unit, working in conjunction with the ACE and asset forfeiture attorneys, collected a total of $12,659,902.58, which is well in excess of the annual operating budget for the United States Attorney's Office.