Mark A. Totten

Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Mark A. Totten takes the seat as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Western District of Michigan. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten belonged to the list of nominations submitted by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on November 21, 2021, and was then confirmed by the United States Senate through Voice Vote on April 27, 2022. U.S. Attorney Mark A. Totten currently holds the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan. He was officially sworn in as the Top Federal Prosecutor on May 5, 2022. The oath of office of U.S. Attorney Totten was administered by Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker at the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten immediately succeeds Former U.S. Attorney Andrew Byerly Birge, who initially served on an interim basis until he was officially appointed Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official in March 2018. The preceding presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan is Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles, Jr., who resigned in January 2017.

Educational Background and Bar and Court Admission

Top Federal Prosecutor Mark Totten is a Cedarville University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1996. The following year, he earned his Master of Theology in Religion from the University of Aberdeen. In 1999, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten pursued a high level of education and earned a Doctor in Philosophy in Ethics from Yale University. In the middle of working on his Ph.D., in 2003, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten pursued law and attended Yale Law School. He received both his Juris Doctorate and his Ph.D. in the year 2006. Currently, U.S. Attorney Totten is licensed to practice in the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. He is also admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit.

Legal Career

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney Totten officially launched his legal career in 2006 when he became a part of the U.S. Department of Justice as an Attorney. For a year, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten prosecuted cases in the office’s Civil Division as an Appellate Staff. His role involved representing the United States and its constituents in civil cases in federal appeals courts. Specifically, U.S. Attorney Totten worked on writing appellate briefs and other motions for the Supreme Court and various U.S. Courts of Appeals. In addition, U.S. Attorney Totten has been assigned to present oral arguments, as well as coordinate litigation with several federal agencies, collaborating on a variety of statutory and constitutional matters such as agency enforcement, employee benefits and grievances, entitlement programs, government contracts, immigration, and tort claims against the government.

Judicial Clerkship

In 2007, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as a Judicial Clerk to The Honorable Thomas Griffith. During this time, his legal career focused heavily on administrative law, including energy and environmental matters. As a Judicial Clerk, U.S. Attorney Totten was tasked to research statutory and constitutional issues on the abovementioned matters. In line with this, U.S. Attorney Totten advised and drafted opinions under the guidance of Judge Griffith. In the early years of his legal career, Top Federal Prosecutor Mark Totten was based in Washington, D.C. Shortly after his service in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, U.S. Attorney Totten moved to the Michigan Area and returned to serve in the U.S. Department of Justice as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.

U.S. Department of Justice

Joining the U.S. Department of Justice again, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten deepened his knowledge and experience in government service. Beginning in 2011, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten served in the office as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, who was responsible for briefing and arguing numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His area of practice, at the time, revolved around cases of child exploitation, domestic violence, drug crimes, gun crimes, homicide, and predatory lending. After another two years of working for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan, Area, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten relocated to Flint, Michigan.

Office of the Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney

In 2016, U.S. Attorney Totten was designated as a Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Office of the Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney. He worked closely with Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, investigating matters involved in the Flint Water Crisis for possible criminal liability.

Executive Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Before joining the Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten worked as a Chief Legal Counsel in the Executive Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. This work has allowed him to craft legislation for the Office and Executive Branch agencies while promoting Governor Whitmer’s legislative agenda. For almost four years, from January 2019 up to his nomination to be Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for the Western District of Michigan, Top Federal Prosecutor Totten continued to provide legal advice to Governor Whitmer herself and the Governor’s Office. Overall, U.S. Attorney Totten managed the Legal Department of the Executive Office. He managed and supervised the litigation and private counsel retained to assist the State of Michigan and its agencies. Furthermore, U.S. Attorney Totten oversaw the judicial appointment process and greatly assisted the Governor in her preparation for candidate interviews. He has also participated in Governor Whitmer’s review of pardon applications and petitions for the commutation of the criminal sentence.

Teaching Background

In between his career as a federal prosecutor, United States Attorney Mark Totten built upon his knowledge and shared his expertise, both in law and in ethics, with aspiring attorneys. He served as a Professor at the Michigan State University College of Law, teaching in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security law, and state constitutional law. With a Ph.D. in Ethics, Top Federal Prosecutor Mark Totten also taught ethics and has served as Director of the Frank J. Kellye Institute of Ethics and the Legal Profession. During his years in the Michigan State University College of Law, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten focused his research on consumer protection, matters related to the Office of the State Attorney General, and public enforcement by state agencies. Top Federal Prosecutor Totten has profound experience in teaching, having taught at the Michigan State University College of Law for over ten years, from 2008 to 2018.

Publications

U.S. Attorney Mark Totten is a highly respected attorney known for his several publications, his most recent being an article he co-authored entitled: Strategies of Public UDAP Enforcement. This paper was written in 2017 and published in Volume 55 of the Harvard Journal on Legislation in 2018. Top Federal Prosecutor Totten has also contributed to other articles, such as the opinion With CFPB in Limbo, States Take the Reins published in The Hill in December 2017; Bias Against LGBT is based on “Sex” published in the Detroit News in November 2017; and The Key to Protecting Consumers published in the U.S. News & World Report in May 2017. The United States Attorney Mark Totten has contributed to four publications in Detroit Free Press, namely Better AG Disclosure is Better For Us All in January 2015; Michigan Needs a Law that Protects Consumers in March 2014; Michigan Must Renounce Drug-Maker Immunity Law in April 2013; and Federal Oversight of Credit Bureaus Good 1st Step in July 2012. Top Federal Prosecutor Totten has also written for Cardozo Law Review in 2015 – an article entitled The Enforcers & The Great Recession. He is the sole author of the article Credit Reform and the States: The Vital Role of Attorneys General After Dodd-Frank, published in the Iowa Law Review in January 2013. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten also authored the book First Strike: America, Terrorism, and Moral Tradition, published by the Yale University Press in September 2010.

Office Jurisdiction

The Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan is now under the leadership of Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official Mark A. Totten. As Top Federal Prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten is responsible for guiding and managing the Office as it remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing justice, ensuring public safety, enforcing the law, and protecting the interests of the United States. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan is accountable for 49 counties, including Michigan’s upper peninsula and the western half of Michigan’s lower peninsula. U.S. Attorney Mark A. Totten oversees approximately 86 employees, consisting of 42 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and 44 support personnel. Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan – Main Office is in Grand Rapids, with staffed offices in Lansing and Marquette and an unstaffed office in Kalamazoo.

Contact Details of Attorney Mark Totten

Full Name: Mark A. Totten
District/State: Western District of Michigan
Public email ID: N/A

Lansing Office

315 W. Allegan
Lansing, Michigan
(517) 377-1577
Main
(517) 377-1698
Fax

Grand Rapids Office

330 Ionia Avenue, N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI
(616) 456-2404
Main
(616) 456-2408
Fax

Marquette Office

Huntington Bank Building
1930 US41 West
Marquette, MI

(906) 226-2500
Main
(906) 226-3700
Fax

Social Media Profiles of Attorney Mark Totten

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Twitter

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Updated:  May 20, 2023