Deputy Attorney General Recognizes South Dakota Prosecutor for Superior Performance in Indian Country

WASHINGTON – Timothy M. Maher, Supervisory Assistant United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota, was one of 58 individuals or group prosecution teams or administrative teams recognized at the Department of Justice by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) Director James Crowell, IV at the 34th Director’s Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. on June 15, 2018.

The District of South Dakota was one of 35 districts represented at the ceremony, which was held in the Great Hall at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building.

In addressing the award recipients and guests, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said, “Today’s honorees earned the esteem of their colleagues.  But most importantly, they earned the gratitude of our fellow citizens — the people whose communities you made safer, whose lives you improved, and whose trust you rewarded.  Today, we pause to honor and recognize a small portion of your work.”

Maher has been the Supervisor in the Pierre branch of the U.S. Attorney’s office since March 2015.  He has been an AUSA since the Fall of 2008.  Throughout, he has provided exceptional contributions to the Department of Justice’s efforts in Indian country, in his case handling, his leadership, training conducted, and in his outreach to our tribal partners.

As branch supervisor, Maher currently leads a team of six prosecutors and four support staff covering the Central third of the State.  The majority of the case load consists of the prosecution of offenses involving murder, manslaughter, aggravated sexual abuse, felony assault, burglary, robbery and other offenses occurring on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.  The remainder of the caseload consists of cases involving illegal narcotics, firearms, wildlife offenses, fraud, and sex offender noncompliance.  In 2016, there were 566 Indian country defendants charged (including juveniles) in the District of South Dakota, and Maher oversaw about 64 percent of the District’s Indian country work.  

From 2008 to 2015, as a line AUSA, Maher prosecuted a wide variety of murders, manslaughters, child pornography, child sexual abuse, assaults upon law enforcement officers, and firearm offenses.  Where needed, he defended those convictions on appeal.  During his time as a line prosecutor, he conducted numerous meetings involving child abuse multi-disciplinary teams, proper sexual abuse response team procedures, domestic violence protocols, and supported the Department's efforts to pursue predators who use the internet to sexually offend.  A former state prosecutor and Hughes County State’s Attorney from 2004 to 2008, Maher helped conduct evaluations of tribal court systems and other prosecutor offices.  Over the years, Maher has routinely instructed law enforcement officers on search and seizure, report writing, photography, criminal law, criminal procedure, and has helped secure hundreds of search warrants involving tribal communities.

“The Department of Justice has chosen wisely in honoring our friend and colleague Tim Maher with this prestigious national award,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons.  “Tim has spent his career building relationships and working together with our Tribal government partners every day to help keep their communities safe.  We could not be more proud of him.”

EOUSA provides oversight, general executive assistance, and direction to the 94 United States Attorneys’ offices around the country.  For more information on EOUSA and its mission, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao.

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