Telework Enhances the Administration of Justice

The attack of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas and her family at their home in New Jersey was a strong and salient reminder for all of the dangers our federal law enforcement community faces as they work to administer justice.

It is not uncommon for violent criminals to also target the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted their crimes. Data from the Department of Justice indicates that nearly 500 threats or inappropriate communications were levied against AUSAs in the last three years.

On behalf of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA), representing the interests of the over 6,000 Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) working in the 94 U.S. Attorney Offices, we write to provide comments on the proposed updates to USAP 3-4.650.001 included in Version 2.1.

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) telework policy has historically supported a patchwork approach to telework availability and flexibility for U.S. Attorney Offices. The absence of a broad adoption of telework flexibility has left some offices without any access to the benefit, which is critical for employee effectiveness, wellbeing, and retention. The proposal USAP 3-4.650.001 included in Version 2.1 ultimately continues this history.

Ensuring the Department of Justice has an adequate budget to resource its components and properly compensate those enforcing the law is both a human capital and a national security concern.

Dear U.S. Attorneys Deegan and Pak: Thank you for meeting with us in Washington last week. Our discussion was productive, and we are appreciative of your interest in the issue of pay for Assistant United States Attorneys.

Dear U.S. Attorneys Deegan and Pak: I write to ask you to end the disparity in pay which causes Assistant United States Attorneys to earn tens of thousands of dollars less each year than their colleagues in the Department of Justice's litigating divisions. The data is clear

The methodology relied upon in the JMD report to analyze salaries is flawed because it is based upon years from appointment as opposed to years of post-JD experience, which is how salaries are determined under the AD pay scale.

As the voice of career federal prosecutors across the country, we write to make clear our strong and unequivocal opposition to the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, H.R. 3713.

We write to share the views of our organizations whose members are federal and state law enforcement agents and prosecutors responsible for the investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers and other violent offenders involved in the distribution and sale of dangerous drugs.

NAAUSA is participating in the ongoing Congressional debate over modernizing the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and is working to assure that Congress considers legitimate law enforcement and civil enforcement needs in any rebalancing of the law to satisfy privacy expectations.

NAAUSA President Steve Cook was invited to testify at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on December 1, 2015. NAAUSA agrees that imposing a warrant requirement for the government to secure stored email in a criminal investigation is appropriate as a general rule. Stve's written testimony concluded that "The Email Privacy Act, unfortunately, goes much further and in the process creates more problems than it solves.

In conjunction with your above-referenced September 16 hearing, I write to express our concerns over the foremost Senate proposal amending the Electronics Communications Privacy Act (S. 754) and ask that these comments be included in the record of your hearing.

This report provides an overview of federal law governing wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). It also appends citations to state law in the area and the text of ECPA.