Ronald Gathe Jr. (‘96) was sworn in as the first Presidentially nominated Black U.S. Attorney for the Baton Rouge-based Middle District of Louisiana on Monday, December 14. Gathe, who succeeds Brandon Fremin, was officially nominated by President Joe Biden and was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate. He was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson of Baton Rouge. Jackson and Stan Lemelle are Black men who served as U.S. Attorney in the Middle District without having been appointed by a president.

Gathe has served as the Chief of Trials for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office since January. He acted as an Assistant District Attorney in the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for over two decades. He has also worked at his own law firm, Law Offices of Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. and Associates. Gathe currently serves as Vice President of Louisiana's chapter of the Membership for the National Black Prosecutors Association. 

The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District essentially acts as the federal district attorney for a nine-parish area: East Baton Rouge, Ascension, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

Read more about Gathe’s appointment here.