Legal Careers
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney
Boise, ID 83712 - United States
The United States Attorney's Office represents the United States in criminal and civil actions in federal district court throughout the state of Idaho. It has offices in Boise, Pocatello, and Coeur d'Alene. The Criminal Division has approximately 20 attorneys. The Civil Division has 5-6 attorneys and is only based in Boise. This vacancy for a Special Assistant United States Attorney is located in the main office in Boise, Idaho. Boise is located in the Treasure Valley, in which 40 percent of Idaho's population resides. The Special AUSA will be employed by a consortium comprising the Treasure Valley Partnership (a working group of elected county and city officials in the Treasure Valley), the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (the official employer), and the State of Idaho. Although the Special AUSA will be officially employed by Canyon County, the attorney will work in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boise and work almost exclusively on federal criminal cases in U.S. District Court.
As the federal agency whose mission is to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans, the Department of Justice is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. To build and retain a workforce that reflects the diverse experiences and perspectives of the American people, we welcome applicants from the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, religions, and cultures of the United States who share our commitment to public service.
The United States Attorney's Office, the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, and the Treasure Valley Partners seek an experienced trial attorney for this Special AUSA position. The individual selected will be appointed a Deputy Canyon County Prosecutor, designated as a Special AUSA, and assigned to the United States Attorney's Offices Criminal Division in Boise. The individual selected will be responsible for handling a heavy criminal caseload involving a wide variety of criminal prosecutions, including violent crime, firearms, and drug offenses related to gang activity.
This position will be for a term of three years but may extend beyond that, at the discretion of the United States Attorney's Office, the Treasure Valley Partners and the Canyon County Prosecutors Office.
Required qualifications: Applicants must possess a J.D. degree, be an active member of the Idaho State Bar, and have at least two years post-J.D. legal or other relevant experience.
Preferred qualifications: Ideally, an applicant will have: a record of academic excellence, demonstrated commitment to public service, experience as a federal or state law clerk, three to six years of trial experience as a criminal prosecutor in state and/or federal court, a strong desire to practice in Idaho, and experience planning and executing case strategy. In addition, the ideal applicant will demonstrate superior written and oral communication skills, superior research skills, which should include successfully defending convictions on appeal, and a demonstrated ability to work well with others, including support staff, peers, and supervisors.
United States citizenship is required.
Interested persons should send an original, signed cover letter; detailed resume; writing sample (ideally, edited solely by the applicant and 7-12 pages in length, with substantive legal analysis), and two references who may be called at any time during the hiring process. The signed cover letter should state why the applicant wants to work in the District of Idaho.
Applications must be received by Friday, July 17, 2015.
Please send résumé to:
Wendy J. Olson
United States Attorney
c/o Becky Early
800 Park Blvd, Suite 600
Boise, ID 83712
No telephone calls please.
The Special AUSA pay will be determined, in part, on the number years of attorney experience. Salary will be in the $65,000 to $70,000 range.
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Department Policies
Equal Employment Opportunity: The U.S. Department of Justice is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Except where otherwise provided by law, there will be no discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex - including gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status - or because of age (over 40), physical or mental disability, protected genetic information, parental status, marital status, political affiliation, or any other non-merit based factor. The Department of Justice welcomes and encourages applications from persons with physical and mental disabilities. The Department is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department of Justice. For more information, please review our full EEO Statement.
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
Veterans: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
USAO Residency Requirement: Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
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