Duane A. Evans is to serve as Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana for the second time. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Evans is replacing U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser, who has tendered his resignation to President Joe Biden in accordance with his request, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson on February 9, 2021. Evans has previously served as interim Top Federal Prosecutor for the district, subsequent to the resignation of then U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite. On March 1, 2021, the appointment of Duane Evans as Acting U.S. Attorney by virtue of the Vacancies Reform Act shall take effect.
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Appointment
First Assistant United States Attorney Duane A. Evans has been promoted into the highest leadership position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, serving as a temporary replacement for the outgoing U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser. The appointment of Duane Evans as Acting United States Attorney is pursuant to the Vacancies Reform Act and was made succeeding the resignation of U.S. Attorney Strasser, who is among the 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys that have been requested to vacate their posts before the end of February 2021. Acting United States Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson made the announcement regarding the request as mentioned earlier on February 9, 2021, as is customary during the transition period into a new administration. Duane Evans shall begin serving in the Office as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official on March 1, 2021. He shall continue to serve for a maximum of 300 days, or until President Joe Biden and the Senate have officially appointed and confirmed a new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Educational Background and Judicial Clerkship
Acting United States Attorney, Evans graduated from the Tulane University School of Engineering, from where he received his degree in Bachelor of Science in Electric Engineering in 1990. Two years after his graduation, Evans decided to pursue law and studied at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, earning his Juris Doctorate in 1995. He subsequently served as a Judicial Law Clerk under the Honorable Judge Ishmael A. Meyers of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.
Legal Career
Launching into a legal career, U.S. Attorney Evans joined the Office of the Orleans Parish District Attorney as an Assistant District Attorney, serving in the capacity for two years, from 1998 to 2000. Succeeding his short stint in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, Duane Evans became a part of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana in August of 2000. He was appointed as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and was primarily assigned in the Violent Crimes Unit, where he was later promoted to being the Chief of the unit. After ten years, in 2010, U.S. Attorney Evans became the Chief of the Strike Force and Anti-Gang Unit. Within the first half of his service in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane Evans held several leadership positions. He was extremely efficient in performing his duties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and as a leader. The Acting United States Attorney Evans has successfully prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including those that involved access device fraud, firearms, government theft, illegal narcotics trafficking, public corruption, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization Act (RICO), but has emphasized the prosecution of the violent crimes.
Within the next decade of his legal career, U.S. Attorney Evans was given even more significant roles in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Apart from being Chief of the Strike Force and Anti-Gang Unit, U.S. Attorney Evans also had the honor of serving in other roles, including being appointed as Chief of Criminal Division, Senior Litigation Counsel, and Leader of the Executive Unit respectively. In September of 2008, U.S. Attorney Duane Evans was assigned to the Executive Unit of the Office, among other senior attorneys. The Executive Unit functions as a particular task force responsible for the prosecution of capital crimes, complex healthcare fraud schemes, drug trafficking offenses, public corruption cases, white-collar financial crimes, and violent crimes. Apart from investigating and prosecuting a wide variety of offenses, the senior attorneys assigned within the Executive Unit are also expected to take part as mentors in criminal investigations and trials conducted by other junior attorneys.
First Tenure As Acting U.S. Attorney
On March 11, 2017, Duane Evans began serving as the Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana for the first time in his legal career. He assumed position upon the resignation of his predecessor, former U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite, who stepped down following the inauguration of former President Donald Trump. Prior to his initial appointment as Top Federal Prosecutor for the district, U.S. Attorney Evans served as First Assistant United States Attorney to former U.S. Attorney Polite and was in charge of managing the daily operations of the Office. On January 3, 2018, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reappointed Duane Evans as Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, which is among the 17 extensions that were made on the same day. Such extensions were deemed necessary, as the period in which these Chief Federal Prosecutors were allowed to serve as interim U.S. Attorney has already lapsed under federal law. Duane Evans’s reappointment was made official on January 5, 2018. Then U.S. Attorney General Sessions extended his gratitude towards Acting U.S. Attorney Evans, who has dedicated almost the whole of his legal career to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Former U.S. Attorney General Sessions has also commended Evans’s commitment to the prosecution of drug trafficking, public corruption, racketeering, and his efficiency as the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the district within the previous ten months.
“For nearly two decades as a prosecutor, Duane Evans has worked tirelessly to take on public corruption, drug trafficking, and racketeering. I am grateful to him for his service, and I am confident that he will continue to deliver results as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana,” said former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Honors and Awards
The first tenure of U.S. Attorney Evans as interim Top Federal Prosecutor for the Eastern District of Louisiana ended after approximately 18 months, in September of 2018. Throughout his over two decades of exceptional service in the Office, U.S. Attorney Duane Evans has been given recognition and awards to commemorate his vital contributions to the district. In 2006, U.S. Attorney Evans was awarded the U.S. Attorney’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance by a Litigation Team. He was also a recipient of the 2016 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Director’s Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation in honor of his contribution to the Harvey Hustlers prosecution.
Statement of Acting U.S. Attorney Evans In Line With Second Tenure
Now on his second tenure as Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane Evans extends his gratitude to the Department of Justice for being given the opportunity to serve the district for a second time. He further asserts that through the succeeding months of his term as interim Top Federal Prosecutor, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana will maintain a strong partnership with the different federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
“I am grateful to the Department of Justice for the opportunity to once again serve the citizens of the Eastern District of Louisiana. I am looking forward to once again working closely with the wonderful and dedicated people of our office, and together, we will tackle any challenges that lie ahead. I also would like to assure our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners that our working relationships and communication bonds will remain strong,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Evans.
Office Jurisdiction
As the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Duane A. Evans is responsible for serving and protecting the approximately 1.5 million residents within the 13 parishes located in South Louisiana. In addition, Acting U.S. Attorney Evans is in charge of leading the Office, particularly in the prosecution of federal law violations and the collection of debts owed to the United States. As Top Federal Prosecutor, Evans is also responsible for managing and supervising all of the criminal prosecutions and civil litigations within the district’s jurisdiction, in which the United States is a party.
Contact Details
Full Name: Duane A. Evans
District/State: Eastern District of Louisiana
Public email ID: duane.evans@usdoj.gov
New Orleans Office
U.S. Attorney’s Office
650 Poydras Street, Suite 1600
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
(504) 680-3000
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Updated: April 4, 2021