Kevin Gafford Ritz is an American lawyer who has served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Western District of Tennessee since September 2022. He is a nominee to serve as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...

Education

A native of Memphis, Ritz graduated from

White Station High School White Station High School is a four-year public high school located in Memphis, Tennessee. White Station High is a member of the Shelby County Schools system and is recognized as one of the best high schools in the state of Tennessee. U.S. New ...

. Ritz received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1997, where he was a Jefferson Scholar. He later received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1999, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 2004.

Career

From 2004 to 2005, Ritz served as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Judge

Julia Smith Gibbons Julia Smith Gibbons (born December 23, 1950 in Pulaski, Tennessee) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Education and Career Gibbons was born and grew up in Pulaski, Tennessee. She atte ...

of the

. In 2005, he became an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

in the United States Attorney's office for the Western District of Tennessee. Ritz worked as a prosecutor in

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and gun-related crimes before moving to

appellate law In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

later in his career. He appeared as counsel in ''

United States v. Castleman The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, often called the "Lautenberg Amendment" ("Gun Ban for Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence", , ), is an amendment to the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, enacte ...

''.

U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee

On July 29, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Ritz to be the United States attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. On August 1, 2022, his nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, and the nomination was confirmed on September 22, 2022, by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding vo ...

. Ritz was sworn in by Chief Judge S. Thomas Anderson on September 28, 2022.

Nomination to the court of appeals

On March 20, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Ritz to serve as a

of the

. His nomination immediately drew opposition from Senator

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee, a seat she has held since 2019. She is a member of the Repu ...

, who claimed that the White House abandoned discussions with her and her fellow Tennessee senator,

Bill Hagerty William Francis Hagerty IV (born August 14, 1959) is an American politician, businessman, and former diplomat serving as the junior United States senator from Tennessee since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 30th U.S. am ...

, to identify a well-suited nominee from their state, while Rep.

Steve Cohen Steve, Steven or Stephen Cohen may refer to: Sportspeople * Stephan Cohen (born 1971), French pocket billiards player * Steve Cohen (gymnast) (born 1946), American Olympic gymnast *Steve Cohen (judoka) (born 1955), American judoka and Olympian *Ste ...

supports his nomination. On March 21, 2024, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Ritz to the seat being vacated by Judge

, who announced her intent to assume

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

upon confirmation of a successor. His nomination is pending before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritz, Kevin G. Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American lawyers American prosecutors Assistant United States Attorneys Georgetown University Law Center alumni Tennessee lawyers University of Virginia alumni