U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York
Department overview
FormedSeptember 24, 1789 (1789-09-24) by the Judiciary Act of 1789
JurisdictionSouthern District of New York
HeadquartersManhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Department executives
Parent DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
Websitejustice.gov/usao/nys
Map
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Southern District of New York

The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, the office represents the United States government in criminal and civil cases across the country. The SDNY handles a broad array of cases, including but not limited to those involving white collar crime, domestic terrorism, cybercrime, public corruption, organized crime, and civil rights disputes.

The Southern District is known for being highly independent and nonpartisan, earning itself the moniker the "Sovereign District of New York".[1][2] Its resources, culture, and accompanying FBI field office have given the SDNY a reputation for being exceptionally aggressive in its pursuit of criminals.[3][4] Due to its jurisdiction over the New York City borough of Manhattan, the preeminent financial center of the United States of America, the office's incumbent is often nicknamed the "Sheriff of Wall Street".[5]

As of October 10, 2021, the United States attorney is Damian Williams.[6]

Organization

The office is organized into two divisions handling civil and criminal matters. The Southern District of New York also has two offices: in Manhattan and White Plains. The office employs approximately 220 assistant U.S. attorneys.[7]

List of U.S. attorneys

In 1814, the District of New York was divided into the Northern and the Southern District.[8]

Term U.S. Attorney Party Appointed by
1 April 1815
–
July 1819 		Jonathan Fisk Democratic-Republican James Madison
2 July 1819
–
February 1828 		Robert L. Tillotson Democratic-Republican James Monroe
3 February 1828
–

April 1829

John Duer Democratic-Republican John Quincy Adams
4 April 1829
–

April 1834

James A. Hamilton Democratic Andrew Jackson
5 April 1834
–

December 10, 1838

William M. Price Democratic
6 December 1838
–

March 1841

Benjamin F. Butler Democratic Martin Van Buren
7 March 1841
–

March 1845

Ogden Hoffman Whig William Henry Harrison
8 March 1845
–

September 1848

Benjamin F. Butler Democratic James Polk
9 September 1848
–

December 1848

Charles McVean Democratic
10 January 1849
–
April 1849 		Lorenzo B. Shepard Democratic
11 April 1849
–
March 1853 		Jonathan Prescott Hall Whig Zachary Taylor
12 April 1853
–
June 1854 		Charles O'Conor Democratic Franklin Pierce
13 July 1854
–
January 1858 		John McKeon Democratic
14 January 1858
–
December 1859 		Theodore Sedgwick Democratic James Buchanan
15 December 1859
–
March 1861 		James I. Roosevelt Democratic
16 April 1861
–
April 1865 		Edward Delafield Smith Republican Abraham Lincoln
17 April 1865
–
April 12, 1866 		Daniel S. Dickinson Democratic
18 April 1866
–
April 25, 1869 		Samuel G. Courtney Democratic Andrew Johnson
19 April 25, 1869
–
July 20, 1870 		Edwards Pierrepont Republican Ulysses S. Grant
20 July 20, 1870
–
December 31, 1872 		Noah Davis Republican
21 December 31, 1872
–
January 24, 1877 		George Bliss Jr. Republican
22 January 24, 1877
–
March 12, 1883 		Stewart L. Woodford Republican
23 March 12, 1883
–
July 6, 1885 		Elihu Root Republican Chester A. Arthur
24 July 6, 1885
–
March 1, 1886 		William Dorsheimer Democratic Grover Cleveland
25 March 1, 1886
–
September 16, 1889 		Stephen A. Walker Democratic
26 September 16, 1889
–
February 1, 1894 		Edward Mitchell Republican Benjamin Harrison
February 1, 1894
–
July 23, 1894 		Henry C. Platt[a] Democratic Grover Cleveland
27 July 23, 1894
–
January 1898 		Wallace Macfarlane Democratic
28 January 1898
–
January 1906 		Henry Lawrence Burnett Republican William McKinley
29 January 1906
–
April 8, 1909 		Henry L. Stimson Republican Theodore Roosevelt
30 April 8, 1909
–
May 7, 1913 		Henry A. Wise Republican William Howard Taft
31 May 7, 1913
–
April 1917 		Hudson Snowden Marshall Democratic Woodrow Wilson
32 April 1917
–
June 1921 		Francis Gordon Caffey Democratic
33 June 1921
–
March 2, 1925 		William Hayward Republican Warren Harding
34 March 2, 1925
–
April 6, 1927 		Emory Buckner Republican Calvin Coolidge
35 April 6, 1927
–
September 29, 1930 		Charles H. Tuttle Republican
September 29, 1930
–
January 1931 		Robert E. Manley[b] Republican Herbert Hoover
36 January 1931
–
November 21, 1933 		George Z. Medalie Republican
November 22, 1933
–
December 26, 1933 		Thomas E. Dewey[c] Republican Franklin D. Roosevelt
37 December 26, 1933
–
May 16, 1935 		Martin Thomas Conboy Jr. Democratic
May 16, 1935
–
November 20, 1935 		Francis W. H. Adams[d] Democratic
38 November 20, 1935
–
December 1938 		Lamar Hardy Democratic
December 1938
–
March 1939 		Gregory Francis Noonan[e] Democratic
39 March 1939
–
March 1941 		John T. Cahill Democratic
40 March 1941[f]
–
June 10, 1943 		Mathias F. Correa Democratic
June 10, 1943
–
August 2, 1943 		Howard F. Corcoran[g] Democratic
41 August 2, 1943
–
October 9, 1944 		James B. M. McNally Democratic
42 October 9, 1944[h]
–
October 1949 		John F. X. McGohey Democratic
43 October 1949[i]
–

September 18, 1951

Irving Saypol Democratic Harry S. Truman
44 September 18, 1951
–
April 1, 1953 		Myles J. Lane Democratic
45 April 1, 1953
–
July 11, 1955 		J. Edward Lumbard Republican[9] Dwight D. Eisenhower
July 11, 1955
–
September 1, 1955 		Lloyd F. MacMahon[j] Republican
46 September 1, 1955
–
July 9, 1958 		Paul W. Williams Republican
July 9, 1958
–
1959 		Arthur H. Christy[k] Republican
47 1959
–
January 31, 1961 		Samuel Hazard Gillespie Jr. Republican
January 31, 1961
–
April 18, 1961 		Morton S. Robson[l] Republican John F. Kennedy
48[m] April 18, 1961
–
January 16, 1970 		Robert Morgenthau Democratic
49 January 16, 1970
–
June 4, 1973 		Whitney North Seymour Jr. Republican Richard Nixon
50 June 4, 1973
–
October 31, 1975 		Paul J. Curran Republican
October 31, 1975
–
March 1, 1976 		Thomas J. Cahill[n] Republican Gerald Ford
51 March 1, 1976
–
March 2, 1980 		Robert B. Fiske Republican
March 3, 1980
–
May 21, 1980 		William M. Tendy[o] Republican Jimmy Carter
52 May 22, 1980
–
June 3, 1983 		John S. Martin Jr. Democratic
53 June 3, 1983
–
January 1, 1989 		Rudy Giuliani Republican Ronald Reagan
January 1, 1989
–
October 16, 1989 		Benito Romano[p] Republican George H. W. Bush
54 October 16, 1989
–
May 31, 1993 		Otto G. Obermaier Republican
55 June 1, 1993
–
January 7, 2002 		Mary Jo White Unaffiliated[10] Bill Clinton
56 January 7, 2002
–
December 15, 2003 		James Comey Republican[11] George W. Bush
December 15, 2003
–
September 6, 2005 		David N. Kelley[q] Democratic
57 September 6, 2005
–
December 1, 2008 		Michael J. Garcia Republican
December 1, 2008
–
August 13, 2009 		Lev Dassin[r] Unaffiliated
58 August 13, 2009
–
March 11, 2017 		Preet Bharara Democratic Barack Obama
March 11, 2017
–
January 5, 2018 		Joon Kim[s] [data missing] Donald Trump
January 5, 2018
–
June 20, 2020 		Geoffrey Berman[t] Republican
June 20, 2020
–
October 10, 2021 		Audrey Strauss[u] Democratic
59 October 10, 2021
–
present 		Damian Williams Democratic Joe Biden
  1. ^ Henry C. Platt served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  2. ^ Robert E. Manley served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  3. ^ Thomas E. Dewey served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  4. ^ Francis W. H. Adams served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  5. ^ Gregory Francis Noonan served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  6. ^ Correa served as Acting U.S. Attorney from March to July 1941 before official confirmation to the post.
  7. ^ Howard F. Corcoran served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  8. ^ McGohey served as Acting U.S. Attorney from October 9, 1944, to January 1945 before official confirmation to the post.
  9. ^ Saypol served as Acting U.S. Attorney from October 1949 to April 13, 1950, before official confirmation to the post.
  10. ^ Lloyd F. McMahon served as interim U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  11. ^ Arthur H. Christy served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  12. ^ Morton S. Robson served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  13. ^ From September 6 to November 20, 1962, Morgenthau resigned his position to run for Governor of New York. After he was defeated, John F. Kennedy re-appointed him as U.S. Attorney. In the interim, Vincent Lyons Broderick served as acting U.S. Attorney from September 5 to November 20, 1962.
  14. ^ Thomas J. Cahill served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  15. ^ William M. Tendy served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  16. ^ Benito Romano served as Acting U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  17. ^ David N. Kelley served as interim U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  18. ^ Lev Dassin served as interim U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  19. ^ Joon Kim served as interim U.S. Attorney during the vacancy
  20. ^ Geoffrey Berman served as Interim U.S. Attorney from January 5 to April 25, 2018[12][13] and as court-appointed U.S. Attorney from April 25, 2018, to June 20, 2020[14][15][16][17]
  21. ^ Audrey Strauss served as Acting U.S. Attorney from June 20, 2020, until she was court-appointed U.S. Attorney on January 16, 2021

Notable assistants

In popular culture

Television

The Showtime drama series Billions is loosely based on Preet Bharara's prosecution of SAC Capital and other hedge funds.[18]

The ABC legal drama For the People depicts new defense attorneys and prosecutors working in the Southern District of New York.

The 2020 Netflix series Fear City: New York vs The Mafia documents the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Southern District of New York against the Five Families of the Italian American Mafia in the 1980s.

References

  1. ^ Weiser, Benjamin; Rashbaum, William K. (March 10, 2017). "With Preet Bharara's Dismissal, Storied Office Loses Its Top Fighter". New York Times. In past presidential transitions, the storied office, long known to be so independent of Washington that some people referred to it as the Sovereign District of New York, has in large measure moved forward unaffected by politics.
  2. ^ Beale, Sara Sun (2011). "What Are the Rules if Everybody Wants to Play?". In Barkow, Anthony S.; Barkow, Rachel E. (eds.). Prosecutors in the Boardroom: Using Criminal Law to Regulate Corporate conduct. NYU Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780814787038. Finally, in some multijurisdictional cases there have been turf battles rather than cooperation. For example, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York ... Press accounts have noted the perception that the 'Sovereign District of New York' ... doesn't necessar[il]y play well with others.
  3. ^ McDermott, Terry; Meyer, Josh (2012). The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Little, Brown. p. PT42. ISBN 9780316202732. This was sometimes referred to—mockingly, but enviously, too—as the Sovereign District of New York. It was in many ways a separate fiefdom from the rest of the Bureau, creating its own rules and procedures. The agent in charge of the office, unlike all but one other agent in charge, held the rank of an assistant director of the entire FBI.
  4. ^ Ragavan, Chitra (March 26, 2001). "The pardon buck stops in New York: U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White takes the lead". U.S. News & World Report. Vol. 130, no. 12. p. 24. The Bush administration has left the answer largely in the hands of White, a registered independent, whose office, because of its legendary independence and tenacity, is known as the 'sovereign district'.
  5. ^ Relman, Eliza (May 15, 2017). "'History will judge this moment': The 'Sheriff of Wall Street' urges Republican lawmakers to hold Trump accountable". Business Insider. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Berthelsen, Christian (October 11, 2021). "Wall Street Enforcer Becomes First Black U.S. Attorney for Manhattan". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Organization and Operation, U.S. Attorney's Office
  8. ^ "Southern District of New York". www.justice.gov. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "History". New York Young Republican Club. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  10. ^ 2013 Speech to the 14th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Corporate Securities and Financial Law Lecture, Fordham Law School SEC. (October 3, 2013). Retrieved December 14, 2014
  11. ^ Krieg, Gregory (May 9, 2017). "Who is James Comey: 7 things to know about the fired FBI director". CNN. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  12. ^ "Statement Of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman On Appointment By Chief Judge" (Press release). April 25, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ^ Weiser, Benjamin (August 9, 2009). "For Manhattan's Next U.S. Attorney, Politics and Prosecution Don't Mix". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Orden, Erica; Perez, Evan; Prokupecz, Shimon (October 12, 2019). "Manhattan US attorney in the spotlight with another high profile investigation of Trump's inner circle". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Scannell, Kara (March 9, 2020). "US Attorney Geoffrey Berman asserts independence from Justice Department". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Erica Orden; Kara Scannell (February 15, 2020). "Attorney general's actions spark outrage and unease among US prosecutors". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Spinelli, Dan (February 15, 2020). "Report: Barr Protected Turkish Bank From Prosecution to Appease Erdogan". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Tallerico, Brian (April 2, 2017). "Billions Recap: Agents of Chaos". Vulture. Retrieved April 25, 2017.

External links

Current prosecutors in New York City
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