US Department of Justice, Northern District of California

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CIVIL DIVISION

The Civil Division consists of the General Defensive Litigation, Affirmative Civil Enforcement (A.C.E), Financial Litigation (F.L.U), Environment and Natural Resources (E.N.R.) and Immigration units.   Two civil AUSA´s are assigned to the San Jose Branch Office, and three civil AUSA´s are assigned to the Oakland Branch Office.

General Defensive Litigation

The majority of the Civil Division's AUSA´s are assigned to the general defensive litigation team.  This team principally defends the United States in employment discrimination and harassment actions along with vehicular, medical malpractice and other personal injury matters brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act.  General defensive litigation attorneys are also responsible for cases in a wide array of other disciplines, including the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, Administrative Procedures Act, immigration, constitutional torts, Social Security, subpoenas, constitutional law, prisoners' rights, civil rights and government contracts.

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Affirmative Civil Enforcement

The primary purpose of the ACE Unit is to prosecute civil actions to recover damages for fraud and other misconduct against the United States; to impose civil penalties for violations of the nation's health, safety and economic welfare laws; and to use the Fraud Injunction Statute to enjoin on-going mail, wire or bank frauds and freeze ill-gotten gains derived from those frauds. 

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Financial Litigation Unit

The primary function of the FLU is to litigate and enforce the collection of criminal and civil debts owed to the United States, including judgments, fines, restitution and penalties. 

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Environment and Natural Resources Unit

The ENR Unit litigates both affirmative and defensive environmental cases on behalf of the United States.  Its work falls into five main categories:  pollution (air, water and hazardous waste), public lands and natural resources (defense of decisions about land management and, occasionally, land title issues), wildlife (endangered species and other wildlife laws), land acquisition (condemnation) and Indian matters. 

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Immigration Unit

The primary purpose of the Immigration Unit is to defend cases arising under the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.). The cases include habeas corpus, denial of naturalization, and other challenges to actions by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (I.N.S), such as denial of employment authorization and visa petitions from relatives of individuals who have been granted asylum, and cases seeking agency action, including adjudication of applications or placing an alien in proceedings to apply for relief.

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