View source for Office of Professional Responsibility (Department of Justice)

{{About|the Department of Justice unit investigating misconduct|the Offices of Professional Responsibility of other U.S. federal agencies}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name            = Office of Professional Responsibility
| native_name     = 
| native_name_a   = 
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| type            = Office
| seal            = DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility.png
| seal_size       = 180px
| seal_caption    = Seal of the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility
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| formed          = {{Start date and age|1975|12|8}}<ref name="opr-manual">{{Cite web |date=2012 |title=Organization, Mission and Functions Manual: Office of Professional Responsibility |url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/jmd/mps/2012/manual/opr.htm |access-date=2024-01-19 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]}}</ref>
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| dissolved       = 
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| agency_type     = 
| jurisdiction    = [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]]
| status          = 
| headquarters    = [[Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building|950 Pennsylvania Avenue]], [[Northwest (Washington, D.C.)|N.W.]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| coordinates     = {{coord|38|53|35.52|N|77|1|30|W|display=inline,title}}
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| chief1_name     = Jeffrey R. Ragsdale<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet the Counsel |url=https://www.justice.gov/opr/meet-the-director-and-chief-counsel |website=www.justice.gov |date=22 January 2015 |access-date=9 July 2021}}</ref>
| chief1_position = Director and Chief Counsel
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| parent_department = [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]]
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| website         = {{URL|http://www.justice.gov/opr|justice.gov/opr}}
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The '''Office of Professional Responsibility''' ('''OPR'''), part of the [[United States Department of Justice|United States Department of Justice (DOJ)]] and supervised by the FBI, is responsible for investigating lawyers employed by the Department of Justice who have been accused of misconduct or crime in the exercise of their professional functions.

==History==
The OPR was established in 1975 by order of then [[Attorney general|Attorney General]] [[Edward H. Levi|Edward Levi]], following revelations of ethical abuse and serious misconduct by senior DOJ officials during the [[Watergate scandal]]. The order directed OPR to "receive and review any information concerning conduct by a Department employee that may be in violation of law, regulations or orders, or applicable standards of conduct."<ref>https://www.justice.gov/opr/about-opr USDOJ: Office of Professional Responsibility: About OPR</ref>

==Mission==
OPR's primary mission is to ensure that DOJ attorneys perform their duties in accordance with professional standards.

The OPR promulgates independent standards of ethical and criminal conduct for DOJ attorneys, while the DOJ's [[United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General|Office of the Inspector General]] (OIG) has jurisdiction of non-attorney DOJ employees.

The OPR receives reports of allegations of misconduct made against DOJ attorneys from many sources. Nearly half of all such allegations are reported to OPR by DOJ sources, such as the attorney involved.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/opr/policies-and-procedures |title=USDOJ: Office of Professional Responsibility: OPR Process<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=September 26, 2018 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117200137/https://www.justice.gov/opr/policies-and-procedures |url-status=dead }}</ref> The remaining complaints come from a variety of sources, including private attorneys, defendants and [[Civil law (common law)|civil litigants]], other [[List of United States federal agencies|federal agencies]], [[U.S. state|state]] or [[Local government in the United States|local government]] officials, judicial and [[United States Congress|congressional]] referrals, and media reports. OPR gives expedited attention to judicial findings of misconduct.

The OPR reviews each allegation and determines whether further investigation is warranted. The determination is a matter of investigative judgment that weighs many factors, including the nature of the allegation, its apparent credibility, its specificity, its susceptibility to verification, and the source of the allegation. A decision to open a matter does not give rise to a presumption of misconduct, nor shift the burden of proof to the accused person. The OPR's investigations involve a wide range of allegations, and the investigative methods used vary accordingly.

In many cases, the OPR notifies the accused attorney and requests a written response. Sometimes, the OPR also makes on-site investigations. The OPR reports the results of the investigation to the component head concerned and to the Office of the [[Deputy Attorney General]]. The OPR also advises the complainant and the accused attorney of its conclusion.

==List of directors==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!rowspan=2|{{abbr|No.|Number}}
!colspan=2|Director
!colspan=3|Term
|-
!Portrait
!Name
!Took office
!Left office
!Term length
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 1
| image             = <!-- Do not use placeholder images, per WP:IPH -->
| officeholder      = [[Michael Shaheen]]
| officeholder_sort = Shaheen, Michael
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = December 8, 1975
| term_end          = December 30, 1997
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|December 8, 1975|December 30, 1997}}<ref name="opr-manual" /><ref name="pr1998">{{Cite press release |title=H. Marshall Jarrett appointed to head Office of Professional Responsibility |date=1998-05-21 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/1998/May/228opr.htm.html |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = –
| image             = <!-- Do not use placeholder images, per WP:IPH -->
| officeholder      = Richard Rogers
| officeholder_sort = Rogers, Richard
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = December 30, 1997
| term_end          = May 21, 1998
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|December 30, 1997|May 21, 1998}}<ref name="pr1998" />
| acting            = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 2
| image             = H. Marshall Jarrett.jpg
| officeholder      = [[H. Marshall Jarrett]]
| officeholder_sort = Jarrett, H. Marshall
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = May 21, 1998
| term_end          = April 8, 2009
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|May 21, 1998|April 8, 2009}}<ref name="pr1998" /><ref name="pr2009">{{Cite press release |title=Attorney General Eric Holder Names New Leadership for ATF, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and Office of Professional Responsibility |date=2009-04-08 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url=https://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/April/09-ag-319.html |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = –
| image             = <!-- Do not use placeholder images, per WP:IPH -->
| officeholder      = Mary Patrice Brown
| officeholder_sort = Brown, H. Mary Patrice
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = April 8, 2009
| term_end          = December 23, 2010
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|April 8, 2009|December 23, 2010}}<ref name="pr2009" /><ref name="pr2010">{{Cite press release |title=Attorney General Announces Appointment of Robin C. Ashton as Head of the Office of Professional Responsibility |date=2010-12-23 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-announces-appointment-robin-c-ashton-head-office-professional-responsibility |language=en |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
| acting            = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 3
| image             = Robin-Ashton-Justice (cropped).jpg
| officeholder      = [[Robin Ashton]]
| officeholder_sort = Ashton, Robin
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = December 23, 2010
| term_end          = September 2018
| timeinoffice      = {{circa}} {{ayd|December 23, 2010|September 15, 2018}}<ref name="pr2010" /><ref>{{Cite press release |title=Inspector General of the Intelligence Community Recognizes National Compliance Officer Day |date=2018-09-26 |publisher=[[Inspector General of the Intelligence Community]] |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/ICIG/Documents/News/ICIG%20News/2018/September%2026%20-%20National%20Compliance%20Officer%20Day/20190108-Natl%20Compliance%20Officer%20Day.pdf |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 4
| image             = Corey Amundson.jpg
| officeholder      = [[Corey Amundson]]
| officeholder_sort = Amundson, Corey
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = October 2, 2018
| term_end          = September 30, 2019
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|October 2, 2018|September 30, 2019}}<ref name="pr2018">{{Cite press release |title=Department of Justice Announces Corey Amundson to Head the Office of Professional Responsibility |date=2018-10-02 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-announces-corey-amundson-head-office-professional-responsibility |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal-pin/file/1346061/download |title=Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section for 2019 |publisher=[[Public Integrity Section]]}}</ref>
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = –
| image             = Jeffrey R. Ragsdale.jpg
| officeholder      = [[Jeffrey Ragsdale]]
| officeholder_sort = Ragsdale, Jeffrey
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = September 30, 2019
| term_end          = May 19, 2020
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|September 30, 2019|May 19, 2020}}<ref name="pr2020">{{Cite press release |title=Attorney General William P. Barr Will Appoint Jeffrey Ragsdale to Head Office of Professional Responsibility |date=2020-05-18 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-william-p-barr-will-appoint-jeffrey-ragsdale-head-office-professional |access-date=2024-01-19}}</ref>
| acting            = y
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 5
| image             = Jeffrey R. Ragsdale.jpg
| officeholder      = [[Jeffrey Ragsdale]]
| officeholder_sort = Ragsdale, Jeffrey
| born_year         = 
| died_year         = 
| term_start        = May 19, 2020
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|May 19, 2020}}<ref name="pr2020" />
}}
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://www.justice.gov/opr}}

{{DOJ agencies}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:United States Department of Justice agencies]]
[[Category:Federal law enforcement agencies of the United States|Department of Justice]]