California
A photo taken on Aug. 11, 2022, shows the U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. | Photo by Liu Jie/Xinhua via Getty Images
President Joe Biden has nominated Ismail Ramsey, a founding partner of Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP in Berkeley, as the new U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California.
Ramsey, a graduate of Harvard and University of California Berkeley, previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in addition to practicing law in the private sector. As a trial lawyer at Ramsey & Ehrlich LLP, Ramsey specializes in white-collar and general criminal defense as well as commercial litigation.
If confirmed, Ramsey will replace Stephanie Hinds, who has served as acting U.S. attorney since the departure of David Anderson. Anderson, who was U.S. attorney from 2019 to 2021, led a federal crackdown on drug trafficking in the Tenderloin and a corruption probe targeting San Francisco public officials, among other initiatives.
Ramsey's clients included Mohammed Nuru, former head of San Francisco's Department of Public Works, who was accused of partaking in a bribery scheme and pled guilty to a federal fraud charge in January.
Biden also nominated Kate E. Brubacher as U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas on Tuesday.
In a statement, the White House said Ramsey and Brubacher were selected for their professionalism and their commitment to equal justice and the "independence of the Department of Justice."
The White House framed the nominations as part of a broader effort to tackle an uptick in gun crime and rising crime rates across the U.S.
Annie Gaus can be reached at [email protected]
