Attorney Richard Hartunian to Lead U.S. Justice Department Group

U.S. Attorney Richarch Hartunian (right) was appointed to lead an advisory committee on policy for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. (Photo: John Carl D’Annibale)

ALBANY, New York (Times Union)””United States Attorney Richard Hartunian, the Albany-based federal prosecutor for the Northern District of New York, was appointed Monday to lead an advisory committee on policy for U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

It is the first time a prosecutor in charge of the 32-county district, which includes the Capital Region, has been named to head the panel.

Hartunian, 55, of Delmar, who graduated Georgetown University in 1983 and Albany Law School in 1986, became vice chair of the panel in January 2015. Now he will head a panel that is tasked with establishing policies for the U.S. Department of Justice, fostering cooperation with state attorneys general and promoting consistency in the application of legal standards.

The panel dates to 1973. Hartunian succeeds former U.S. Attorney John Walsh of Colorado. Hartunian will be joined by a new vice chair, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade, who heads the Eastern District of Michigan.

“The attorney general’s Advisory Committee plays an essential role in shaping the Justice Department’s policies, implementing its programs, and ensuring that equal justice and the rule of law are upheld throughout the United States,”