Stephanie Hinds takes over in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California as Acting United States Attorney, beginning on March 1, 2021. On February 9, 2021, Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson made an announcement, on behalf of the Biden Administration, to request the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to step down from their posts by the end of the month. The outgoing U.S. Attorney David Anderson tendered his resignation on February 11, 2021, and shall be replaced by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds by Virtue of the Vacancies Reform Act.
Table of Contents
Appointment
An interim United States Attorney has been appointed for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. Stephanie Hinds is the new Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official of the district, making her the third woman in the 170-year history of the Northern District of California to take on the role. She is to replace David Anderson – the outgoing U.S. Attorney who has spent the past two years as the Top Federal prosecutor in the Bay Area and is now to leave his post in response to the request of President-elect Joe Biden for the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to vacate their posts. On February 9, 2021, Acting United States Attorney General Robert M. Wilkinson announced the request of the Biden Administration for the active change in the Offices to cater the transition of President Biden into incumbency, to which former U.S. Attorney Anderson responded by announcing his resignation two days later, on February 11, 2021. Stephanie Hinds is to officially take over in the Office by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act on March 1, 2021 and shall remain in the position for 120 days or until the Biden Administration and the Senate has nominated and confirmed a new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
Educational Background and State Bar Admission
Stephanie Hinds is a graduate of the University of California – Hastings College of Law, from where she received her Juris Doctorate. She was subsequently granted admission into the State Bar of California on December 16, 1991, where she has an active membership.
Legal Career
Prior to joining the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, U.S. Attorney Hinds launched her legal career working as a Litigation Associate for Heller, Ehrman, White & McAulliffe in San Francisco. She has represented individuals and other entities in civil lawsuits brought before the courts and has also offered legal advice for their clients. Later on, U.S. Attorney Hinds became the Deputy City Attorney for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Her role in Office was to perform a wide range of legal duties within the Civil Litigation Division.
With approximately 25 years of experience being a prosecutor in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, U.S. Attorney Hinds has held numerous leadership positions and has significantly contributed to what the Office is capable of now. She began her tenure in the Office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1995, responsible for prosecuting domestic and international money laundering offenses, fraud cases, laundering offenses, public corruption matters, violent crimes, among other federal violations.
Leadership Roles in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California
During her tenure with this Office, Atty Hinds prosecuted narcotics cases, violent crimes, fraud cases, public corruption matters, domestic and international money laundering offenses, among other violations. In 2004, U.S. Attorney Hinds was appointed as the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Criminal Division. She was in charge of overseeing the seizure and forfeiture of assets used or generated in criminal activities. She later became the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Office for the Northern District of California, serving from 2017 to 2018. Upon his appointment in January of 2019, former U.S. Attorney David Anderson announced the office’s new leadership team. This action aimed to boost the Office’s efficiency, particularly with regards to the number of cases they are able to prosecute and the speed at which the Office can handle these cases. At the time, former U.S. Attorney Anderson tapped Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds to be a Deputy United States Attorney to manage the Office’s intake of new criminal matters and be responsible for the overall outreach with regards to the programs of the Criminal Division of the Office. As Deputy U.S. Attorney, Hinds designed and led a program involved with the community to organize and designate county captains and subject-matter principals for case categories. This initiative enabled the Office to extend its reach throughout the district, especially concerning cases and places wherein the Office has significantly ventured lesson.
In 2019, U.S. Attorney Hinds was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force National Program. She remained in the position for a year until 2020. A few months into his incumbency, former U.S. Attorney Anderson launched a corporate fraud strike force in order to expedite the Office’s prosecution of corporate fraud actions. Later on, he made a new section with, essentially, the same goal – to boost the Office’s efficiency in the prosecution of white-collar cases. During this time, several adjustments were made in the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, including the appointment of Stephanie Hinds as First Assistant United States Attorney to former U.S. Attorney David Anderson on September 16, 2020. Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds expressed her delight in being able to return home into a new role. She further claimed she is looking forward to continuing the legacy of the outgoing First Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Reeves with the help of the extremely talented and dedicated employees of the Office.
“I am excited to return home in this new role. I look forward to working with the extremely talented and dedicated staff and assistant U.S. attorneys in the NDCA and to continue the great work that Adam was doing as first assistant U.S. attorney.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds was second-in-command to former U.S. Attorney Anderson for about five months, from September of 2020 to February of 2021.
Office Jurisdiction
As the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Northern District of California, Stephanie Hinds is in charge of protecting nearly 9 million residents of the district. On top of that, she is responsible for leading the United States Attorney’s Office in prosecuting violations of federal law, representing the United States in all civil litigations within the district, and collecting debts owed to the United States. The Northern District of California encompasses 15 counties, with three major metropolitan areas – the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Juan.
Contact Details
Full Name: Stephanie Hinds
District/State: Northern District of California
Public email ID: stephanie.hinds@usdoj.gov
San Francisco Office
Federal Courthouse
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 436-7200
Main
(415) 436-7234
Fax
(415) 436-7221
TTY
Oakland Office
Federal Courthouse
1301 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 637-3680
Main
(510) 637-3724
Fax
(510) 637-3678
TTY
San Jose Office
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Heritage Bank Building
150 Almaden Blvd. Suite 900
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 535-5061
Main
(408) 535-5081
Fax
(408) 535-5071
TTY
Social Media Profiles of Stephanie Hinds
Username: Stephanie Hinds
URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-hinds-a041587/
Username: N/A
URL: N/A
YouTube
Username: N/A
URL: N/A
Twitter Field
Username: U.S. Attorney NDCA
Tag: @USAO_NDCA
[custom-twitter-feeds screenname=”USAO_NDCA”]
Updated: March 19, 2021