Kenneth Allen Polite Jr. (born 1976) is an American lawyer who previously served as the assistant attorney general for the criminal division in the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

from 2021 to 2023. He also served as a

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 2013 to 2017.

Early life and education

Polite was born in 1976 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees: Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr
/ref> to teenage parents. His mother, Rosalind, was still in high school when he was born and his father Kenneth Polite Sr., eventually became a police officer. Along with brothers, Damion and Tyrrel, Polite was raised by his single mother in the

Lower Ninth Ward The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Ind ...

. In 1993, he graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

from De La Salle High School in New Orleans. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1997 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

in 2000.

Career

In 2001, Polite served as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

to Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a United States federal court, federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the United States district court, district courts for the following United Sta ...

. From 2002 to 2006, he served as an associate at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He served as an assistant United States attorney in the Southern District of New York, from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2013, he was a shareholder at the law firm of Liskow & Lewis in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he headed the firm's White Collar Crime Defense Group and served as the hiring partner. From 2018 to 2021, he was a partner at the law firm of

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP (known as Morgan Lewis) is an American white-shoe international law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms ...

United States Attorney

On June 27, 2013, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

nominated Polite to be the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. His nomination was reported by the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

on September 12, 2013, by

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

. On September 17, 2013, his nomination was confirmed in the Senate by

. He received his commission on September 20, 2013, and took the oath of office the same day. In 2014, Polite created the Crescent City Keepers Mentoring Program, aimed at using faith communities to mentor at-risk youth. He also created an anti corruption unit to address claims of civil rights violations and public corruption. That same year, Polite introduced the 30-2-2 reentry program for former inmates. The program joined with 30 local businesses who agreed to hire two formerly incarcerated individuals for two years. In 2015, Polite was named to the

Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys The Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys (AGAC), is a committee of the United States Department of Justice. History The creation of the committee was first announced in 1973 by United States Attorney General, Attorney G ...

, a national advisory board for the U.S. Attorney General

Loretta Lynch Loretta Elizabeth Lynch (born May 21, 1959) is an American attorney who served as the 83rd attorney general of the United States from 2015 to 2017. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to succeed Eric Holder and previously served as the ...

. The advisory board provides advice and counsel to the Attorney General and other Justice Department officials on issues related to policy and operations. Under Polite, the U.S. attorney's office has brought several high-profile cases against individuals such as

Robert Durst Robert Alan Durst (April 12, 1943 – January 10, 2022) was a convicted murderer and an American real estate heir. The eldest son of New York City real estate magnate Seymour Durst, he garnered attention as a suspect in the unsolved 1982 disappe ...

Ray Nagin Clarence Ray Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. N ...

Big Freedia Freddie Ross Jr. (born January 28, 1978), better known by her stage name Big Freedia ( ), is an American rapper, singer and performer known for her work in the New Orleans genre of hip hop called bounce music. Freedia has been credited with helpi ...

and

Darren Sharper Darren Mallory Sharper (born November 3, 1975) is an American former professional football safety and convicted rapist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the William & Mary Tribe and ...

Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division

On April 12, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

nominated Polite to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division within the

. On May 26, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

. On June 17, 2021, the committee favorably reported his nomination to the Senate floor. On July 20, 2021, the Senate confirmed Polite by a vote of 56–44. He was sworn in on July 21, 2021. In July 2023, US attorney general Merrick Garland said in a statement that Polite will step down at the end of July after 2 years of Assistant Attorney General.

Personal life

Polite is married to Florencia Greer Polite, Chief, Division of General Obstetrics & Gynecology, at the University of Pennsylvania. The couple met while attending Harvard. The couple and their two daughters live in Philadelphia and are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He has served on the Louisiana Civil Service Commission and the board of New Orleans College Prep Charter School in Central City. Polite cites the murder of his half-brother in New Orleans in 2004 as a factor in becoming a prosecutor. Polite is a member of the

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity. In 2015, Polite received an honorary doctorate from

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

References