PD_DOJ_Deputy-Attorney-General

Position Description

DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Overview

Senate Committee

Judiciary

Agency Mission

To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law, ensure public safety against foreign and domestic threats, provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior and ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

Position Overview

The deputy attorney general advises and assists the attorney general in formulating and implementing department policies and programs and in providing overall supervision and direction to all organizational units of the department.

Compensation

Level II $179,700 (5 U.S.C. § 5313)¹ _{The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31, May 5, 2017), contains a provision that continues the freeze on the payable pay rates for certain senior political officials at 2013 levels during calendar year 2017.}

Position Reports to

The Attorney General

Responsibilities

Management Scope

In 2015, DOJ had 112,100 full-time equivalents and an annual budget of $33.136 billion.

Primary Responsibilities

® Advises and assists the Attorney General in formulating and implementing department policies and programs and in providing overall supervision and direction to all organizational units of the department.
® Is authorized to exercise all the power and authority of the attorney general unless any such power or authority is required by law to be exercised by the attorney general personally or has been specifically delegated exclusively to another department official.
® Performs such other activities and functions as may be assigned from time to time by the Attorney General.
® In the absence of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General acts as the Attorney General.
® Serves as the DOJ representative at White House coordination meetings of the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council and maintain staff to address related justice policy.
® Acts on behalf of the Attorney General for purposes of authorizing searches and electronic surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and Executive Order 12333 on Intelligence.
® Reviews and recommends to the Attorney General whether to seek or decline to seek the death penalty in specific cases.
® Acts as the initial contact with the White House on pending criminal matters.
® Recommends to the White House, after consultation with the Office of the Pardon Attorney, whether the president should grant specific petitions of pardon or commutation of sentence.
® Responsible for all DOJ attorney personnel matters, including final action in matters pertaining to the employment, separation and discipline (except for GS-15 and below attorney matters which have been delegated to the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management).
® Coordinate and controls the department’s reaction to civil disturbances and terrorism.
® Oversees budget matters as well as certifies to Congress the cost-effectiveness of DOJ investments in information technology.
® Sets enforcement priorities in consultation with the attorney general, to address key priorities, chair inter-and intra-agency task forces and organizations, e.g., National Procurement Fraud Task Force, International Organized Crime Council, National Corporate Fraud Task Force, Anti-Gang Coordination Committee, Attorney General Advisory Committee and manages high-priority program offices that reside within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, e.g., Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Privacy and Civil Liberties Office, the Faith Based and Community Initiatives Task Force and the Iraq Rule of Law program.
® Shares with the Associate Attorney General oversight responsibility for the Office of Tribal Justice.
® Has particular responsibility over the components that deal with criminal and national security law.

Strategic Goals and Priorities

[Depends on policy priorities of the administration]

Requirements and Competencies

Requirements

® Frequently a former prosecutor
® Strong management ability
® Excellent legal credentials and experience
® Proven crisis management abilities

Competencies

® Highest level of integrity and professional ethics

Past Appointees

Sally Yates (2015 to 2017) u2013 Vice Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia; lead prosecutor in the prosecution of Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph
James M. Cole (2010 to 2015) u2013 Attorney in private practice; various non-political positions in the Department of Justice
David Ogden (2009 to 2010) u2013 Attorney in private practice; Counselor to the US Attorney General; Deputy General Counsel in Department of Justice; Legal Counsel in Department of Justice; Associate Deputy Attorney General in Department of Justice
Mark Filip (2008 to 2009) u2013 Attorney in private practice; the United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago
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