States Attorney.

Matthew T. Kirsch

Matthew Kirsch is a State's Attorney for the District of Colorado

State's Attorney's office of the District of Colorado

Matthew T. Kirsch is to serve as the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the District of Colorado, briefly filling the gap and replacing the outgoing United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn, who has been requested to step down along with the 55 remaining Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys in an announcement made by Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson on February 9, 2021. Starting March 1, 2021, Kirsch will be the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, remaining in the position for the next 120 days, or until the time that the Biden Administration and the Senate have nominated and confirmed a new U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, respectively.

 

Appointment

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado greets their new Acting U.S. Attorney. Matthew T. Kirsch has been appointed as the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official for Colorado by virtue of the Vacancies Reform Act and is to fill in the position following the stepping down of United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn, who announced that he had tendered his resignation to President Joe Biden on February 16, 2021. The adjustments made in the Office is a part of the preparation of the Biden Administration in appointing new Top Federal Prosecutors for the different offices within the United States. Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson made an announcement on February 9, 2021, declaring the request of President-elect Joe Biden for the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to vacate their posts. Matthew T. Kirsch will officially take over in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado on March 1, 2021 and shall remain as an Acting U.S. Attorney for 120 days, or until the Biden Administration has successfully appointed a new United States Attorney for the District of Colorado.

 

Educational Background and Bar Admission

Matthew Kirsch is a graduate of Harvard College, from where he received his undergraduate degree. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Duke University School of Law and was subsequently granted admission into the Colorado Bar Admission in 1998. U.S. Attorney Kirsch has managed to teach at a boarding school in Shrewsbury, England, in between college and law school.

 

Legal Career

Prior to being a career prosecutor, Acting U.S. Attorney Kirsch clerked under the Honorable Norwood Carlton Tilley, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. He launched his legal career working briefly in an international law firm based in Denver and later joined the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1999. Throughout his years of service in the position, U.S. Attorney Kirsch managed to prosecute hundreds of cases involving a wide variety of federal crimes, with a focus on complex economic crimes. Within his more than two decades of providing assistance and service in the United States Attorney’s Office, Acting U.S. Attorney Kirsch has been given numerous opportunities to handle leadership roles, including being the Chief of the Economic Crimes Section. He was also previously the Chief of the Criminal Division, responsible for managing and overseeing all of the violations of federal criminal law that occurs within the State and the District of Colorado. On top of that, as Criminal Division Chief, U.S. Attorney Matthew Kirsch handled appeals from similar aforementioned convictions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

 

Accomplishments as First Assistant U.S. Attorney

Upon the appointment of former U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn as Top Federal Prosecutor for the district, Matthew Kirsch was also tapped to serve as First United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. As first and second-in-command in the Office, former U.S. Attorney Dunn and now Acting U.S. Attorney Kirsch has worked hand-in-hand to serve the residents of the district and relentlessly pursue justice. In line with this, the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado has focused on the prosecution and combat of narcotics trafficking and drug cartels, domestic terrorism, gun crime, and gang violence, among other violent crimes. In addition to that, they have led the Office in holding corporations, as well as doctors, accountable for the careless distribution of opioids. They were also able to establish an award-winning multi-agency task force – the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (RAVEN), which was brought about to aid in addressing issues such as violent gun crime within the Denver Metro area. In collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, former U.S. Attorney Dunn and incumbent Acting U.S. Attorney Kirsch have, ultimately, made the State a safer place for the Coloradans by always making public safety the number one priority in the Office.

 

Volunteer Experience and Memberships

Acting United States Attorney Matthew Kirsch has dedicated much of his time and has been heavily involved in the local community outreach efforts of the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. He has served as a member of the National Working Group of Criminal Chiefs of the Department of Justice, working to enhance the criminal justice system and the ability of the different Offices throughout the United States to prevent and control crime and serve the victims of crimes. U.S. Attorney Kirsch has also demonstrated a strong commitment to legal ethics, as well as ensuring high standards of professionalism in his line of work. Within the Office, Kirsch has served as a Professional Responsibility Officer – in charge of investigating attorneys under the DOJ, who have been accused of misconduct or crimes in their professional functions; a Giglio Officer; and a Criminal Discovery Coordinator – responsible for overseeing a wide range of national initiatives that are in line with the goal of providing federal prosecutors, along with other law enforcement officials, the training and resources, which would effectively aid in criminal discovery. Apart from his service within the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Acting U.S. Attorney Kirsch has also served well independent of the Office. He has been a member of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association since 2006 and has participated in various committees that are associated with the Colorado Rules of Professional Responsibility. From 2019 to 2021, U.S. Attorney Kirsch was appointed as the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee of the Colorado Bar Association. Moreover, he has continued to be an active advocate of legal ethics and professionalism and has presented multiple Continuing Legal Education programs, particularly on topics involving legal ethics issues. U.S. Attorney Kirsch has also taught courses at the National Advocacy Center of the Department of Justice, teaching on topics of criminal trial advocacy, evidence, and professional responsibility.

 

Office Jurisdiction

As the incumbent Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Matthew T. Kirsch is first-in-command in the Office and is responsible for leading and overseeing its five divisions – the Administrative, the Appellate, the Asset Recovery, the Civil, and the Criminal Divisions of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. He is also in charge of the prosecution of all of the federal crimes occurring within the jurisdiction of the District, in which the United States is a party. The Office of the United States Attorney shall also handle all civil litigations and collect the debts owed to the United States.

 

Contact Details

Full Name: Matthew T. Kirsch
District/State: Colorado
Public email ID: matthew.kirsch@usdoj.gov

Denver Office

1801 California Street
Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202

(303) 454-0100
Main
(303) 454-0400
Fax

Durango Branch Office

AUSA Jeffrey Graves
835 E 2nd Avenue, Suite 410
Durango, CO 81301

(970) 247-1514
Main
(970) 247-8619
Fax

Grand Junction Branch Office

AUSA Peter Hautzinger
205 North 4th Street, Suite 400
Grand Junction, CO 81501

(970) 257-7113
Main
(970) 248-3630
Fax

Media Contact

USACO.PublicAffairs@usdoj.gov
E-mail Address

 

Social Media Profiles of Matthew Kirsch

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Username: @USAO_CO
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URL: https://twitter.com/usao_co

Updated: March 25, 2021

 

Philip Cole Finegan, II is the next State’s Attorney for the District of Colorado. His biography can be found here.

Updated: May 17, 2022

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