Individuals and businesses facing government investigation or criminal prosecution in the Southern District of Georgia should hire experienced counsel to protect their interests. HHM has experience in a wide variety of federal criminal areas and a strong presence in the Southern District of Georgia.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (S.D. Ga.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit. The S.D. Ga. Is comprised of 6 divisions encompassing 43 counties in the State of Georgia.

The Augusta Division comprises the following counties: Burke, Columbia, Glascock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren and Wilkes. The Brunswick Division comprises the following counties: Appling, Camden, Glynn, Long, McIntosh, and Wayne. The Dublin Division comprises the following counties: Dodge, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Telfair, Treutlen, and Wheeler. The Savannah Division comprises the following counties: Bryn, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty. The Statesboro Division comprises the following counties: Bulloch, Candler, Emanuel, Evans, Jenkins, Screven, Tattnal, and Toombs. The Waycross Division comprises the following counties: Atkinson, Bacon, Brantley, Charlton, Coffee, Pierce, and Ware.

The S.D. Ga. has one Chief Judge: James Randal Hall (Augusta); two District Judges: Lisa Godbey Wood (Brunswick), R. Stan Baker (Savannah); and Two Senior Judges: Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. (Augusta), William Theodore Moore Jr. (Savannah).

United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia

The current United States Attorney for the S.D. Ga. is Bobby Christine, who was appointed on November 22, 2017. The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of Georgia prosecutes cases involving violations of federal statutes, and represents the interests of the United States government and its agencies in criminal and civil cases. The USAO for the S.D. Ga. conducts investigations and litigates a broad range of criminal conduct. The USAO for the S.D. Ga is headquartered in Savannah, in addition to having a fully staffed office in Augusta and four unstaffed branches located in Waycross, Brunswick, Statesboro and Dublin.

Criminal Division

The Criminal Division of the USAO for the S.D. Ga. prosecute a variety of serious offenses, including: serious drug offenses, racketeering, public corruption offenses, mail and wire fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, child pornography, immigration violations, firearms violations, counterfeiting and crimes on military reservations including Fort Stewart and Fort Gordon. A new and vital task added to the Division’s responsibilities is to spearhead and oversee the Department of Justice’s anti-terrorism effort in southeast Georgia that focuses on enhancing the security of the ports in Savannah and Brunswick. The Criminal Division also includes the Asset Forfeiture Section, which enforces the laws of the U.S. utilizing the criminal and civil forfeiture statutes to seize and forfeit assets of individuals committing federal offenses, separating criminals and their accomplices from the profits of their illegal conduct.

Civil Division

The Civil Division of the USAO for the S.D. Ga. represents the U.S., its agencies, offices and employees in district court in a variety of civil actions in both federal and state courts including discrimination cases and personal injury and wrongful death actions including: medical malpractice suits, constitutional tort claims, injunctive and declaratory life actions and challenges to agency actions such as the denial of social security benefits. Additionally, the Civil Division defends decisions by the Department of Homeland Security for the removal of illegal aliens from the U.S. The Civil Division is further tasked with all pro se prisoner issues including cases involving the violation of constitutional rights while incarcerated as well as petitions for writs of habeas corpus. The Civil Division also handles bankruptcy litigation, which oftentimes results in the collection of financial assets for the U.S.

The Civil Division is particularly busy due to the high volume of civil litigation cases arising out of the four major military installations in the S.D. of Ga, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), a federal prison, and three Veterans Administration Medical Facilities.

A vital component of the Civil Division is the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Section, which seeks monetary recovery primarily using the False Claims Act and common law causes of action in order to recover money paid by the U.S. as a result of false and fraudulent claims having been submitted by individuals, contractors and vendors. The ACE Section works in close conjunction with the Financial Litigation Unit (FLU), which collects debts owed to the U.S. by using the Federal Debt Collection Act as well as collecting criminal fines and restitution owed to non-federal victims of criminal activity and accepting referrals directly from federal agencies to collect civil penalties and other debts imposed upon individuals, companies and other entities pursuant to authorized federal statutes and regulations.

HHM and the SDGA

The knowledgeable and competent federal defense team at HHM is prepared to assist you with your FBI, OIG, IRS, or other federal government legal matters. If your personal reputation or corporate entity are under attack we can utilize our invaluable insight of the federal litigation process to develop a personalized and effective strategy to safeguard your interests and ensure your rights are protected at all stages of your case.