Jan W. Sharp has been named the new interim United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska. It is to replace the outgoing U.S. Attorney Joseph P. “Joe” Kelly by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Top Federal Prosecutor Kelly tendered his resignation in response to the call of President-elect Joe Biden to have the remaining presidentially-appointed U.S. Attorneys vacate their posts. Acting U.S. Attorney General Monty Wilkinson, in an announcement on February 9, 2021, noted that this process was necessary and customary to welcome a new administration. As U.S. Attorney Kelly is to step down effective February 28, 2021, Jan W. Sharp will take over in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska beginning on March 1, 2021.
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Appointment
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jan W. Sharp has been designated to be the Acting United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska, taking over in the Office of the United States Attorney and replacing the outgoing U.S. Attorney Joseph P. “Joe” Kelly. Jan Sharp will fill in the highest position in the Office pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, following the departure of U.S. Attorney Joe Kelly, who is among the 55 U.S. Attorneys across the nation that has been requested by President Joe Biden to resign from their posts effective February 28, 2021. Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. “Monty” Wilkinson made the announcement last February 9, 2021, on behalf of the Biden Administration, calling for the rest of U.S. Attorneys who have previously been appointed by former President Donald Trump to vacate their posts as a part of the preparations necessary in the transitioning into a new administration. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharp will serve as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska beginning on March 1, 2021. It shall remain as the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official until a successor for the permanent position has been appointed and confirmed by President-elect Joe Biden and by the Senate, respectively. The appointment of Jan Sharp will remain in effect up to 300 days and may be extended if deemed necessary by the Attorney General.
Educational Background, and Bar and Court Admissions
An alumnus of the University of Nebraska, Acting U.S. Attorney, Jan Sharp graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in 1979. He subsequently attended the University of Nebraska College of Law and received his Juris Doctorate in 1982. Straight after law school, U.S. Attorney Sharp was admitted into several Bar Associations, including the State Bar of Nebraska, in 1982. He has also been granted permission to practice law in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska in the same year.
Legal Career
Interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Office Jan Sharp is a talented and dedicated career prosecutor who has committed the whole of his legal career to public service in the government sector. Prior to joining the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Sharp launched his legal career in the Office of the Lancaster County Attorney as a Deputy County Attorney in 1982. In this capacity, U.S. Attorney Sharp provided general legal services to the County Attorney, as well as to the Board of Supervisors. Jan Sharp remained in the Office of the Lancaster County Attorney for about six years, until 1988.
Following his departure from the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office, Acting U.S. Attorney Sharp joined the U.S. Department of Justice. It became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska in 1988. He was primarily a line assistant in the Criminal Division of the Office, serving in the position for approximately five years until 1993. The United States Attorney Sharp eventually became the Chief of the Criminal Division from 1993 to 1994. He was made in charge of developing, enforcing, and supervising the application of all federal criminal laws within the scope of the division.
On top of that, the position also required that he oversees the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters, as well as several civil litigations, and defends the interest of the United States. Acting U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp served a second term as Chief of the Criminal Division from 2001 to 2008. For both times, U.S. Attorney Sharp was also made in charge of the Assistant United States Attorneys in the General Crimes Unit of the Criminal Division.
When former U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Kelly was appointed and confirmed by former President Trump and by the Senate in 2017, he took the liberty of appointing Acting U.S. Attorney Sharp to be his First Assistant United States Attorney. For approximately four years, Jan Sharp fulfilled his duties as second-in-command in the Office and has managed the daily operations of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska. The Acting United States Attorney Sharp has devoted most of his legal career and 23 years of his life to serving the district as an Assistant U.S. Attorney stationed in Omaha, Nebraska.
Office Jurisdiction
Top Federal Prosecutor Jan Sharp has been an invaluable asset to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska. His practice areas include criminal defense and white-collar crime. As interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the District of Nebraska, Jan W. Sharp is in charge of leading the Office of the United States Attorney in representing the interests of the United States in litigation, as well as in community affairs that are related to law enforcement. Moreover, Acting U.S. Attorney Jan Sharp is also responsible for managing and supervising the prosecution of violations of federal criminal law, including crimes involving child exploitation, drug trafficking, fraud, human trafficking, immigration violations, identity theft, public corruption, and terrorism, among other general crimes ranging from violent crime to sophisticated white-collar offenses. The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska also has the responsibility of defending the United States in affirmative and defensive civil lawsuits within the district, along with collecting debts owed to the United States. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska is among the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Office across the nation, with the ultimate goal to protecting and serving the judicial district it is assigned to.
Contact Details
Full Name: Jan W. Sharp
District/State: Nebraska
Public email ID: jan.sharp@usdoj.gov
Omaha Branch Office
United States Attorney’s Office
1620 Dodge St, Suite 1400
Omaha NE 68102
(402) 661-3700
Main
(402) 345-6958
Fax
(800) 889-9124
Toll-Free
Lincoln Branch Office
United States Attorney’s Office
487 Federal Building
100 Centennial Mall North
Lincoln NE 68508
(402) 437-5241
Main
(402) 437-5390
Fax
(800) 889-9123
Toll-Free
Social Media Profiles of Jan Sharp
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YouTube
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Username: U.S. Attorney Nebraska
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Updated: April 23, 2021