The United States Attorney's Office represents the federal government in legal matters in which the United States is a party. The United States Attorneys have three statutory responsibilities under Title 28, Section 507 of the United States Code:
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the prosecution of criminal cases brought by the Federal government;
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the prosecution and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party; and
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the collection of administratively uncollectible debts owed the Federal government.
Functionally, the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee is divided into three divisions, a branch office, and two support programs including:
- Criminal Division
- Civil Division
- Administration
- Jackson Branch Office
- Victim-Witness Program
- Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee
Mission Statement
The mission of the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee is to enforce compliance with federal law, to act as legal representative of all federal agencies within the District, and to provide public safety within the District through the equal and fair administration of justice.
“The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those which mark a gentleman. And those who need to be told would not understand it anyway. A sensitiveness to fair play and sportsmanship is perhaps the best protection against the abuse of power, and the citizen’s safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility.”
Robert H. Jackson