Michael A. Battle (born October 15, 1955) is an American attorney who served as the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys in the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
until he resigned, effective March 16, 2007. He was the person who informed seven
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 ...
s on December 7, 2006 that they were being dismissed.
Early life and education
Battle was born and raised in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
in 1977 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 1985 to 1992, he was an assistant U.S. attorney in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, where he served in the General Criminal Division, the Civil Division, and on the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force. Following his admission to the
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
bar, he worked as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society Civil Division. In 1992, he helped to establish the Rochester and Buffalo Federal Public Defender's Offices, where he served until 1995. In June 1996, he was appointed by Governor George Pataki to serve as a judge on the Erie County, New York Family Court and was elected the following November to a full 10-year term. From 1995 to 1996, he served as assistant in charge of the Buffalo office of the New York State Attorney General.
From January 2002 to May 2005, Battle served as
United States attorney for the Western District of New York The United States Attorney for the Western District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in seventeen New York (state), New York counties: Allegany County, New York, Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua ...
.
Benamar Benatta
During his time as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Battle was responsible for the case of
Benamar Benatta Benamar "Ben" Benatta is an Algerian refugee claimant living in Canada.rendition from Canada on September 12, 2001. That November, the FBI concluded that Benatta was innocent; however, according to federal Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr, Battle then conspired with the FBI and immigration agents in a "sham" to make it appear that Benatta was being held for immigration violations.
In October 2003, when Battle announced he was dropping charges, a Buffalo reporter asked whether he planned to apologize to Benatta. Battle responded, "I'm not going to address that." Benatta was finally released in 2006, five years after having been cleared in November 2001.
Battle was then promoted by the White House. ''
The Los Angeles Times
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' reported that Benatta had been held for a total of 1,780 days, which gave him the distinction of being held on jail without charge longer than any other suspect in the U.S.Post-9/11 Detainee Returns to His Life ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', August 18, 2006
Executive Office for the United States Attorneys
Battle began his service as director of the
Executive Office for United States Attorneys
The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) is the office within the Department of Justice that provides executive and administrative support for the 93 United States Attorneys located throughout the 50 states, District of Columbia, Gu ...
(EOUSA) at the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
on June 6, 2005. He was involved 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 ...
, as he was the Justice Department official who, on December 7, 2006, informed seven U.S. attorneys that they were being dismissed. Just as publicity was heating up, and Congress began issuing subpoenas, he resigned on March 5, 2007, effective March 16.
Private practice
Battle is a senior partner at Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP in New York, focusing on commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and appeals.http://www.schlamstone.com/profiles/battle.html