Biden taps U.S. Attorney for Western District Kevin Ritz as Sixth Circuit Judge nominee

Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz can be seen speaking about results from their targeted crime reduction operation during a press conference involving federal and local partners on Friday, October 20, 2023 at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Downtown Memphis, Tenn.
U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz can be seen speaking about results from their targeted crime reduction operation during a press conference involving federal and local partners on Friday, October 20, 2023 at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Downtown Memphis, Tenn.
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President Joe Biden Wednesday nominated Kevin Ritz, the current U.S. Attorney General for the Western District of Tennessee, to be a judge on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, a statement posted to the White House website said.

Ritz's nomination came alongside 6 additional nominees.

Ritz was nominated to his current role by Biden in 2022, and he has overseen the federal criminal prosecution of five officers charged with killing Tyre Nichols and violating his civil rights. He was also part of the U.S. Department of Justice's announcement that it would be opening a pattern-or-practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department.

He has also overseen an effort to deter organized crime, with Memphis being the second city to host the DOJ's Violent Crime Initiative.

Prior to that nomination, Ritz spent 17 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District's office. During that time he held multiple roles, and was the appellate chief from 2018 until 2022, the criminal appellate chief from 2010 to 2018 and was special counsel to the U.S. Attorney from 2011 until 2022.

From 2004 to 2005, Ritz clerked for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I commend President Biden for nominating Kevin Ritz of Memphis for the U.S. Court of Appels for the Sixth Circuit where I predict he will serve with distinction," U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, said in an email statement Wednesday afternoon. "Kevin was a well-respected Assistant U.S. Attorney and the office’s Appellate Chief for more than a decade before his appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and has shown real skill in coordinating the federal law enforcement response to crime in our region. This is a thoughtfully considered nomination for an eminently qualified candidate."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Joe Biden taps U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz as Sixth Circuit Judge nominee