Former chief SF prosecutor out at top DOJ post in D.C.

A longtime prosecutor at the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California who was later transferred to a top Department of Justice post in Washington, D.C., has exited that role, The Standard has learned.

Stephanie Hinds, who led the Northern District office in an interim role from March 2021 to March 2023, was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland as director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys in October.

The role oversees the 93 U.S. attorneys nationwide, providing administrative support and legal education. 

The circumstances surrounding Hinds’ departure were not immediately clear, but her exit follows a series of terminations at the Northern District of California.

President Donald Trump this month fired the district’s chief prosecutor, Ismail J. Ramsey, and replaced him with Patrick Robbins. It is not unusual for a new administration to replace U.S. attorneys, but presidents usually do so in consultation with the Department of Justice, Bloomberg has reported. Trump did not speak with the DOJ about Robbins’ appointment.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed that Hinds’ last day was Saturday but did not provide an explanation for her departure. An out-of-office email reply from Hinds states that she is on extended medical leave. Bloomberg, which first reported on Hinds’ departure, said she was reassigned to a sanctuary cities enforcement working group.

The website for the Executive Office states that the role is vacant, and a biography for Hinds has been archived. Deputy Norman Wong is performing Hinds’ duties, the department said.

A graduate of UC Hastings (now UC Law San Francisco), Hinds worked at the San Francisco city attorney’s office in the 1990s before joining the local U.S. attorney’s office, according to her LinkedIn page. At her federal post, she prosecuted cases involving public corruption, violent crime, and money laundering. 

Hinds was a prosecutor during some of San Francisco’s most notorious scandals, including those involving disgraced Department of Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru and Theranos executive Sunny Balwani.

Hinds was named an associate deputy attorney general in Washington in May 2023, before assuming leadership of the Executive Office.