| Anne M. Tompkins | |
|---|---|
| U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office April 2010 |
|
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Gretchen C.F. Shappert |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1962 Waynesboro, Virginia |
| Residence | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Charlotte (B.A.) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (M.P.A./J.D.) |
Anne Magee Tompkins is an American lawyer who serves as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
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Born in Waynesboro, Virginia, Tompkins attended Central Piedmont Community College and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. She then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was awarded a Master in Public Administration and a Juris Doctor.[1]
Tompkins joined the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's office in 1992 as an Assistant D.A., staying for five years until April 1997. After a brief interlude in private practice in Charlotte, she returned to the Mecklenburg County D.A.'s office just six months after leaving. In May 2000, she left the D.A.'s office to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of North Carolina, serving for five years.[1] While working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she was detailed to Baghdad for eight months to help prosecute Saddam Hussein.[2]
In August 2005, Tompkins joined Alston & Bird, a Charlotte law practice, as a partner. There, she specialized in white collar criminal defense and corporate compliance.[3]
On December 23, 2009, Tompkins was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination unanimously on March 25, 2010;[4] she gained unanimous approval from the full Senate on April 22.[5]
On March 18, 2011, Tompkins attracted controversy when she described a man's minting of his own currency as "a unique form of domestic terrorism".[6] The comment related to the successful conviction of Bernard von NotHaus, who was found guilty of creating and distributing a counterfeit currency.[7]
Tompkins is a lesbian. She is one of four openly LGBT U.S. Attorneys, alongside Jenny Durkan of the Western District of Washington, Laura Duffy of the Southern District of California and Robert L. Pitman of the Western District of Texas.[8]