Meet the Acting U.S. Attorney

Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney

On March 12, 2023, First Assistant United States Attorney Morris “Sonny” Pasqual was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. 

As the Acting United States Attorney, Mr. Pasqual serves as the top federal law enforcement official in the Northern District of Illinois, which contains approximately nine million people in 18 counties. The office is widely recognized for significant prosecutions involving public corruption, financial fraud, international terrorism, violent crime, cyber-crime, narcotics, civil rights and numerous other criminal and civil matters. As the Acting U.S. Attorney, Mr. Pasqual manages more than 300 employees, including approximately 152 Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Chicago and Rockford.

Mr. Pasqual has served at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for nearly 33 years. Before becoming the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2022, Mr. Pasqual served as Counsel to the United States Attorney, Chief and Deputy Chief of the Narcotics and Gangs Section, Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption and Organized Crime Section, and Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section.

Mr. Pasqual also previously served as the Great Lakes Regional Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and as the OCDETF Lead Task Force Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. 

Mr. Pasqual has tried approximately 45 jury cases involving public corruption, financial fraud, drug trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, illegal firearms possession, and other matters. 

Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Pasqual was a Trial Attorney for eight years  with the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, working in both the Chicago and San Francisco offices.  While at the Antitrust Division, Mr. Pasqual tried five jury cases involving criminal bid-rigging, price-fixing, and obstruction of justice.

Mr. Pasqual earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, in 1981 from Creighton University School of Law.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science, magna cum laude, in 1978 from Seton Hall University. 

Mr. Pasqual has served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, teaching Criminal Trial Practice and Federal Criminal Practice.