President Joe Biden nominates former assistant U.S. attorney to top spot in Memphis

President Joe Biden tapped Kevin Ritz as the next U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. The main office is located in Memphis.

Nominated by Biden on Friday, Ritz has been with the office for about 17 years as an assistant U.S. attorney. He had previously worked as a law clerk for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 2004 through 2005.

Ritz worked as a prosecutor in gun-related crimes before moving to appeals later in his career, even appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 to argue whether a man convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in Tennessee qualified as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under federal law.

The man, James Castleman, was convicted in Tennessee in 2001 and, in 2008, he was "allegedly buying firearms from dealers and selling them on the black market." Castleman was charged with two counts of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, but that charge was later dropped as federal law did not define it that way.

In September 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a 9-0 opinion, stating the 2001 conviction qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in federal law.

The Western District has been without a presidentially appointed attorney since Michael Dunavant stepped down in February 2021. Dunavant was appointed by former President Donald Trump, and stepped down when President Biden was sworn into office.

Joseph Murphy, Jr. stepped in to fill the vacancy while the Biden administration looked for a future nominee. Ritz iwill now face a confirmation hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and, if he receives a confirmation vote there, will appear before the U.S. Senate for a final confirmation.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Biden nominates Kevin Ritz as U.S. Attorney for Western District of TN