Kevin G. Ritz

On March 20th, 2024, President Biden nominated Kevin G. Ritz to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Ritz is the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2005.  

Biography

Ritz was born in Petersburg, Virginia in 1974. He earned his B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Virginia, his M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and his J.D., Order of the Coif, from the University of Virginia School of Law. Ritz received several prestigious awards in law school, including the James C. Slaughter Honor Award and the Ritter Prize.

Legal Experience 

After graduating from law school in 2004, Ritz clerked for Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is now nominated for Judge Gibbons’ seat. In 2005, Ritz joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. He started as an assistant United States attorney, predominantly litigating narcotics and other criminal law cases. He was promoted to criminal appellate chief in 2010.

Eight years later, Ritz was again promoted to the role of appellate chief. As appellate chief, he litigated both civil and criminal law claims. He retained his criminal law specialization to an extent, however, with the bulk of his cases involving post-conviction criminal appeals. In 2022, after two decades at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ritz was named U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. During his long and prestigious career, Ritz has argued 37 federal appeals, written 200 briefs, and represented only one client: the United States.

The following cases are representative of Ritz’ legal career: