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There’s a new top federal prosecutor overseeing the region.
Jacqueline C. Romero was appointed by President Joe Biden in April, approved by a vote by the U.S. Senate earlier this month, and sworn in this week as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Juan R. Sánchez administered the oath of office to Romero.
Romero is the first woman to be appointed and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the job. She also is the first person of color and first first person to identify as LGBTQIA+ to lead the office.
Romero will oversee an office of 140 assistant U.S. attorneys and more than 100 non-attorney employees for a district that covers Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia counties.
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The new top regional prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice has served as an attorney with the office for the past 16 years.
Romero represented the government in both civil and criminal court cases. She prosecuted gun crimes, fraud, environmental, and tax matters, while also handling civil rights, employment, and administrative law cases.
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“I am deeply honored to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and I am humbled by the opportunity to lead an office in which I have worked for so many years,” Romero said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated men and women in the Justice Department, and those in law enforcement agencies at state and local levels, in pursuit of our shared values of protecting Americans’ civil rights, public safety, and the rule of law.”
Prior to becoming a prosecutor, she was a litigation associate with a firm in New Jersey and served as in-house counsel for the U.S. Mint.
Romero has been president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania and been a member of the LGBTQ Bar Association of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Judicial Commission.
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Jennifer Arbittier Williams, who served as acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for the past 18 months, will help Romero with the transition before leaving.
Romero appointed attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer Jr. to serve as the office’s first assistant U.S. attorney.
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