Mr. Hanna spoke about the history of the Central District of California and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this district. The Eastern Division of the district is larger than all other divisions combined and accounts for 25% of the population. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is the second largest office in the country, only behind Washington DC.
His priorities as U.S. Attorney include increasing the footprint of the Inland Empire by hiring new Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Riverside branch office and increase filings in the region, hoping to spark an increase of U.S. District judges for this area. The Eastern Division of the Central District of California only has one full time U.S. District Judge so many of the cases are being heard in Santa Ana and Los Angeles, creating a hardship for witnesses.
Mr. Hanna spoke about two programs which he is focused on: Operation Safe Neighborhoods, to combat gun crimes, and Operation Hypocritical Oath, to combat the opioid crisis by locking up “dirty doctors” and shutting down “crooked pharmacies.”
As U.S. Attorney, he created the National Security Division for the district, which started operations approximately two months prior to the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino.
After his speech, Mr. Hanna answered questions from the audience, moderated by Jack Osborn, past president of the Honorable Joseph B. Campbell American Inn of Court. These questions related to the prosecution of crimes relating to marijuana usage (still an illegal substance under federal law), the office’s autonomy, the names of his operations (created by law enforcement), and other priorities.
