Andrew Haden Sworn in as Acting U.S. Attorney

NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – August 7, 2023

SAN DIEGO – Andrew R. Haden was sworn in today as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, one of the busiest federal districts in the nation. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dana Sabraw administered the oath of office to Haden in the presence of his senior leadership team and a small group of friends and family.

Haden is a veteran prosecutor who has served in several high-profile leadership roles for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney (second-in-command) for the last year. Officially, Haden was appointed as Acting U.S. Attorney by the Department of Justice, under the Vacancies Reform Act, after the resignation on August 4, 2023, of then-U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. 

“I am deeply honored to serve our nation and the people of this District as Acting United States Attorney,” Haden said. “I am looking forward to continuing my work with the outstanding team at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our excellent law enforcement partners.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office enforces federal criminal laws in the Southern District of California, which includes San Diego and Imperial counties, and represents the federal government in civil litigation.  The office is one of the nation’s largest, comprised of approximately 300 attorneys and staff members.  As the Acting U.S. Attorney, Haden is the chief federal law enforcement official for the district.

Haden is a career federal prosecutor. He joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010, after being selected and hired through the Attorney General’s Honors Program.  During his almost 13 years in the San Diego office, Haden has worked in the General Crimes Section, as the District’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator, as a Deputy Chief in both the Reactive and Major Crimes Sections, as the Chief of the Violent Crimes & Human Trafficking Section, as the Chief of the Criminal Division, and most recently, as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney.

In 2020, Haden received the nationwide Director’s Award for Superior Performance in a Managerial or Supervisory role from the Executive Office for United States Attorney’s for “extraordinary leadership contributions” to the Department of Justice from 2016-2019. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Haden served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan in the Southern District of California.

A San Diego native, Haden is a graduate of University City High School.  He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University. After college, Haden was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy where he served for five years, which included two overseas deployments.  For his last assignment, Haden was the Navigator on the USS MOBILE BAY (CG-53), a guided-missile cruiser homeported in San Diego.  Haden received his law degree from the University of San Diego.