NAAUSA Asks for Pay Parity Between AUSAs and DOJ Attorneys
by President Gay Guthrie
April 8, 2013
NAAUSA has documented a disparity in pay between Assistant United States Attorneys and Department of Justice trial attorneys, despite their similar responsibilities, experience, and length of service.
NAAUSA has sent a discussion paper to DOJ thatidentifies a serious inequity in pay between AUSAs and DOJ trial attorneys who are similarly situated, especially in entry to mid-level positions.
April 7, 2013
On April 5, MSPB Administrative Law Judge Benjamin Gutman overturned suspensions of AUSAs Joseph Bottini and James Goeke for alleged misconduct in connection with their disclosure obligations during the government's prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens.
April 7, 2013
NAAUSA strongly endorsed SB 892 and HB 1051 because of the protection it extends to Assistant United States Attorneys in their efforts to secure justice for all Americans. The legislation would permit United States Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys in the four federal judicial districts of Texas to carry firearms for their personal protection.
NAAUSA Asks Attorney General to Exempt AUSAs from Furloughs
by President Gay Guthrie
March 29, 2013
In a March 29 letter to the Attorney General. NAAUSA President Gay Guthrie asked that AUSAs be exempted from furloughs and explained his three reasons. First, United States Attorney Offices more than pay for themselves through the financial recoveries they win and the collection of court judgments they secure. Second, the significant investments in investigatory resources being made to pursue health care, mortgage and financial institution fraud require commensurate prosecutorial resources to achieve justice for the victims and the United States. Finally, Assistant United States Attorneys play a critical role in 24/7 national security and counter-terrorism efforts.
March 28, 2013
NAAUSA has written to Robin Ashton, Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) on two issues of concern to NAAUSA: (1) the appropriateness of the "preponderance of evidence" standard of proof in OPR disciplinary proceedings; and (2) the transparency and accessibility of OPR findings and analyses.
In the NAAUSA letter, President Guthrie said "we believe a determination of misconduct, poor judgment or mistake should be tested by a burden of proof that more properly should be based on the higher, commiserate standard of "clear and convincing evidence," not a mere preponderance of the evidence, as currently embraced by OPR."
The letter further stated that "We believe that OPR (and the Professional Misconduct Review Unit) should make their findings and analyses more accessible to AUSAs through more inclusive archiving and cataloguing of past decisions, while continuing to satisfy the privacy rights of AUSAs."
March 11, 2013
NAAUSA notifies Senate that the accross-the-board spending cuts in the sequestration will undermine the performance of the United States Attorneys Offices.
October 16, 2012
NAAUSA retains a substantial common interest in ensuring that the due process rights and privileges of all Assistant United States Attorneys are duly protected. NAAUSA believes that the issues raised in Joseph W. Bottini and James A. Goeke v. U.S. Department of Justice, Docket Nos. SF-0752-12-0600-I-1 and SF-0752-12-0598-I-1,involve broad concerns potentially affecting the due process rights and privileges of all Assistant United States Attorneys, the correctness of penalties imposed by the Department of Justice upon Assistant United States Attorneys for discovery violations, the liability of members of prosecutorial teams for discovery violations, and the underlying process within the Department of Process for the investigation of discovery violations and the determination of sanctions where appropriate.
Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 1201.34(e) of the regulations of the Merit Systems Protection Board, the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (“NAAUSA”) submitted amicus curiae brief as an interested party in the above-captioned matter.
NAAUSA Makes Recommendations on USAO Flexible Work Options
by Gay Guthrie, President
September 18, 2012
Based on discussions with EOUSA and review of DOJ and EOUSA policy guidance, NAAUSA sent a letter to EOUSA recommending changes in the Flexible Work Options (FWO) for AUSAs. NAAUSA's main FWO goal is to make sure that all AUSAs are treated the same regarding compressed work schedules, telework, etc.
NAAUSA/EOUSA Hold Quarterly Meeting
by NAAUSA
June 29, 2012
NAAUSA President Gay Guthrie , Vice President for Operations and Membership Rita Valdrini, Washington Counsel Bruce Moyer and Executive Director Dennis Boyd met with EOUSA Principal Deputy Director and Chief of Staff Monty Wilkinson and EOUSA Deputy Director for Legal Management Suzanne Bell to discuss the OPR report on the Stevens case and Discovery Reform, the AUSA pay cap and Telework and Flexible Work Options.
June 4, 2012
DOJ disciplinary actions against two AUSAs in Stevens case unfair.
Current discovery rules don't need to be changed.
Letter to Editor
by Gay Guthrie, President
May 30, 2012
NAAUSA believes AUSAs disciplined in Stevens case are scapegoats.
April 18, 2012
NAAUSA responds to premature and uninformed calls for retribution against the six prosecutors in Senator Ted Stevens case.
April 2, 2012
NAAUSA's statement opposing S. 2197
March 27, 2012
NAAUSA signs on to Federal-Postal Coalition letter opposing cuts to federal compensation
February 9, 2012
NAAUSA wrote to the House leadership to urge them to reject the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) in its current form because of its underlying financing provisions. The legislation is financed, in part, by a reduction in retirement benefits of Assistant United States Attorneys and others who participate in the federal retirement system. NAAUSA noted that Assistant United States Attorneys are responsible for federal criminal prosecutions and civil cases involving the United States Government.
November 10, 2011
NAAUSA has written to the Chairs and ranking members of the appropriations committee that oversees the DOJ bugdet and asked them to approve the House committee funding level for FY 2012. The House level is higher than the Senate approved level.
Long-time NAAUSA members know that NAAUSA has been effective in the past in working to safeguard the USAO budgets from major cuts and has actually been instrumental in increasing the size of the USAO budgets.
NAAUSA Realigns 16 Regions
by NAAUSA Board of Directors
November 9, 2011
The terms of all NAAUSA delegates, directors and officers ends December 31, 2011. The NAAUSA bylaws require that the distribution of districts by region be reviewed every three years.
NAAUSA Asks EOUSA to Improve AUSA Security - Again
by Steve Cook
October 31, 2011
NAAUSA asks EOUSA about increase in threats and assaults against AUSAs and asks for improvements.
NAAUSA Plays Key Role in Securing Fitness Funding for USAOs
by Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys
September 22, 2011
United States Attorney Offices are beginning to take stock of the new EOUSA guidance, issued on September 22, that delegates authority to USAOs to annually commit up to $3,000 from their office accounts for the purchase of "gymnasium and athletic equipment and/or accessories" for a fitness facility operated by another federal agency in exchange for access and use by USAO employees, including AUSAs. According to the September 22 memo from EOUSA Director Marshall Jarrett to all USAOs, the funds may also be used toward access fees to another agency's fitness facility. Director Jarrett in the memo pointed to the instrumental role that NAAUSA played in bringing about this constructive revision in EOUSA policy that will promote better health and fitness by all AUSAs.
NAAUSA Opposes Retroactive Application of Fair Sentencing Act Guideline Amendments
by Steven H. Cook, President
June 2, 2011
NAAUSA Asks Congress to Preserve USAO Funding
by Steven H. Cook, NAAUSA President
February 7, 2011
As the Congress prepares to address government funding for the remainder of the 2011 Fiscal Year, we urge you to preserve funding for United States Attorneys’ Offices at current spending levels and to exercise restraint in imposing cuts that would undermine the performance of their crucial responsibility for prosecuting federal crimes and pursuing and defending civil enforcement actions.
At the outset, we note that the establishment of a federal spending plan that reduces spending and meets the needs of our country in these economically troubling times is an extraordinarily challenging task. We as a nation possess a moral obligation to pass on to our children a fiscally sound government that promises hope and opportunity for future generations. At the same time, the pursuit of justice and the preservation of law and order will be severely tested without sufficient resources for our United States Attorneys’ Offices.
NAAUSA Responds to Distorted and Outrageous USA Today Article
by NAAUSA President Steve Cook
September 28, 2010
To the Editor of USA Today:
Sadly your article (Prosecutors’ conduct can tip justice scales, Sept. 24) inaccurately and unfairly portrayed the professionalism and integrity of the thousands of federal prosecutors who have never been subject to the slightest suggestion of ethical misconduct or lapse of judgment. Even by USA Today’s own statistics, federal prosecutors fulfilled their ethical responsibilities in nearly all – an astounding 99.97 percent -- of the more than 675,000 criminal cases they brought in the federal courts since 1998. Your focus on prosecutorial misconduct – as though this was a common phenomenon in the federal courts – is clearly off the mark, simply by the numbers.
As in all professions, lawyers sometimes make inadvertent mistakes. For prosecutors, as well as for federal judges and defense attorneys, rising caseloads and increasingly complex litigation can contribute to the rare inadvertent error that goes on to make headlines. Substantial safeguards exist to both prevent and address prosecutorial error. Federal prosecutors receive mandatory ethics and discovery training by the Department of Justice every year. Every prosecutor’s work is scrutinized by supervisors, the grand jury and the trial judge. Whenever claims of improper conduct are raised, prosecutors face review and potential discipline by DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility, state bar authorities, and the trial courts.
In a nation governed by laws, federal prosecutors strive not to win cases, but to assure that justice is fairly sought and dispensed.
Steven H. Cook
President, National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys
NAAUSA Asks EOUSA to Improve AUSA Security
by Steve Cook, President
February 12, 2010
EOUSA urged to improve AUSA security
April 20, 2009
NAAUSA enjoyed success last month in the amicus brief it filed with the Supreme Court, asking the Court to award review of an Eighth Circuit decision curtailing prosecutorial immunity. The Supreme Court announced on April 20 that it had awarded certiorari in the case in the next term. NAAUSA, along with the National Association of District Attorneys, had jointly filed an amicus brief in support of the cert petition.
The case is an appeal by county prosecutors of the 8th Circuit's decision in Pottawattamie County, Iowa v. Harrington and McGhee, No. 08-1065. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether a prosecutor can be held liable under Section 1983 for a wrongful conviction and incarceration stemming from the prosecutor’s procurement of false testimony during the investigation of a crime and the subsequent use of that testimony at the trial itself.
The NAAUSA-NADA amicus brief was prepared with the excellent pro bono assistance of Tom Goldstein of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, and Amy Howe of Howell & Russell, P.C. Information about the case is available on the NAAUSA website.
NAAUSA Endorses Kansas Firearms Legislation
by NAAUSA Washington Rep. Bruce Moyer
January 14, 2009
As part of our AUSA security initiatives, NAAUSA wrote to Majority Leader of the Kansas State Senate, the Honorable Derek Schmidt, to endorse legislation to amend Kansas law to more broadly permit the carrying of concealed firearms by the United States Attorney and AUSAs.
