Kevin V. Ryan (born 1957) is a former United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. He was one of the attorneys whose name was mentioned in connection to the

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy On December 7, 2006, the George W. Bush Administration's Department of Justice ordered the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States attorneys. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White ...

Education and background

Ryan was born in Alberta Canada to the son of an Irish immigrant. Ryan was raised in San Francisco, graduating from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Dartmouth College in 1980, and received his Juris Doctor from the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law S ...

in 1984. Ryan began his legal career in California as a prosecutor with the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. While working with the District Attorney's Office, he handled a variety of cases including homicides and violent gang prosecutions. In 1996, while serving as a member of the Violent Gang Suppression Unit, Ryan was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson to serve as a Judge on the San Francisco Municipal Court.

U.S. Attorney career and dismissal

President George W. Bush nominated Ryan as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. His nomination to was at the recommendation of Joseph P. Russoniello, a previous holder of the office. Ryan was confirmed by the United States Senate in July 2002. Ryan was part of a controversy relating to the dismissal of nine U.S. Attorneys by Attorney General

Alberto Gonzales Alberto R. Gonzales (born August 4, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 80th United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic American in executive governme ...

and announced his resignation in January 2007. The Los Angeles Times reported that Ryan was a "loyal Bush supporter" and that the Justice Department fired him primarily out of concern that his poor performance could cause a public relations problem. According to the report, Ryan's problems in office were "well documented in legal newspapers" but "Justice officials wanted to keep Ryan on, even as they plotted the firings of other U.S. attorneys." Publicly released emails between Justice Department officials suggest that they reluctantly added him to the list of attorneys to be fired due to a Federal judge's threat to obtain and potentially release copies of his "blistering" negative evaluations.

City of San Francisco

In 2008, Ryan was hired by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to be his criminal justice advisor to address San Francisco's rising homicide rates.S.F. mayor hires top staff at high pay, despite big city deficit
/ref>Proliferation of guns blamed for epidemic of violence in S.F.
/ref> He resigned in December 2009.

References

External links

ACLU article on former US Attorney Kevin Ryan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Kevin V. Living people Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy People from Alberta Dartmouth College alumni University of San Francisco alumni Lawyers from San Francisco Canadian people of Irish descent 1957 births United States Attorneys for the Northern District of California American people of Irish descent Canadian emigrants to the United States