The U.S. Department of Justice announced it's adding 311 Assistant Attorneys to its ranks nationally. Two of those federal prosecutors are headed to New Hampshire.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the attorneys would be reinforcements in the prosecution of violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis.
"It is a labor-intensive undertaking to prosecute cases associated with the opioid epidemic. And that's why the positions are very much needed,” said Scott Murray, the U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire. “What we’ve been focusing on -- of course -- is the opioid crisis, because of the tremendous impact that it’s having on New Hampshire.”
Murray points out that with the two new hires, the New Hampshire federal office will have a total of 16 assistant attorneys. That's one less than he had when he was Attorney for Merrimack County.
“There was an application process that we went through in requesting the new positions,” Murray said.
A total of 35 immigration prosecutors were allocated nationally, but Murray says the hires for New Hampshire will not have this focus.
“This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades,” Sessions said in a statement.
