Indiana getting 8 additional federal prosecutors

Eight prosecutors will be added to U.S. attorney’s offices in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, those offices announced Tuesday. The new positions are part of the largest nationwide boost of federal law enforcement attorneys in decades.

Four federal prosecutors each will join as assistant U.S. attorneys in the Northern District and Southern District of Indiana. Northern District U.S. Attorney Thomas L Kirsch II said the new positions will allow his office to commit more resources to combatting violent crime and addressing the opioid crisis.

Meanwhile, Southern District U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler also will welcome four new prosecutors, three of whom will focus on violent crime and one will tackle civil opioid enforcement needs in the district.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday announced the allocation of 311 new AUSAs nationwide. Of those, 190 will focus on violent crime, 86 will be assigned to civil enforcement cases and 35 will prosecute immigration cases. Many in the civil enforcement division will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force targeting the opioid crisis at the distribution level.

“We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is ‘the coin of the realm,’” Sessions said in a Tuesday statement. “When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to repurpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime-fighting partnership.”

 In the Southern District, Minkler said the additional prosecutors will help the office carry out its strategic plan priorities of addressing the opioid crisis and curbing gun violence.

“This needed addition of AUSAs allows our office to address the district’s biggest threats head-on, and Hoosiers will soon be able to see real positive results,” Minkler said in a statement. The number of shootings must decrease, and Indiana will be the most inhospitable place in the country to push pills. Our neighbors and community deserve nothing less.”

Kirsch said the priorities for the new prosecutors in the Northern District will be much the same.

“With these new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions, my office will commit even more prosecutorial resources to fighting violent crime and addressing the opioid crisis in the district,” he said in a statement. “Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively go after those who break the law and ensure that they are prosecuted for their crimes.”  

The addition of four prosecutors in each district represents a 10.5 percent increase in the allocation of AUSAs. The Northern and Southern Districts each previously had allocations of 38 assistant U.S. attorneys.