Attorney General Holder Names Benjamin C. Mizer as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division

Press Release

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that he has named Benjamin C. Mizer as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

Mizer replaces Joyce R. Branda, who will return to her permanent role as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Commercial Litigation Branch. Mizer and Branda assumed their positions today.

"Ben Mizer's unassailable integrity, sound judgment and steadfast commitment to the mission of this department are just a few of the reasons he's been chosen to serve as the new Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division -- a critical and demanding post, and one in which he will undoubtedly thrive," said Attorney General Holder "Ben's work here in Washington and as Solicitor General for the state of Ohio has put him in some of the most challenging and demanding positions a lawyer can encounter. But in every instance, Ben has repeatedly demonstrated that he is both a gifted lawyer and a capable leader. I am confident that his stewardship of the Civil Division will build on the exceptional record he has already established -- and reflect the high ideals that have animated him from the very beginning of his career. I congratulate Ben once again on his new role, and I look forward to all that he will achieve as he works to move this department, and this nation, toward an even brighter future."

Prior to his selection to run the Civil Division, Mizer served as a senior advisor to Attorney General Holder on matters related to constitutional law, national security, civil rights, civil litigation, antitrust law and the Supreme Court.

Mizer has also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel. As a member of OLC's leadership team, Mizer provided legal advice to the President, the Attorney General and other executive branch agencies on questions of constitutional law and other issues of particular complexity or importance. Before coming to the department, Mizer served as the Solicitor General of Ohio. As part of those responsibilities, he represented the state as counsel of record in hundreds of appeals. He argued three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and many more in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court on a broad array of issues, including election law, taxation, civil rights, criminal procedure, gun rights and the death penalty.

Mizer also previously worked as an associate at WilmerHale and as an associate legal officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Additionally, Mizer clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and D.C. Circuit Judge Judith W. Rogers.

Mizer received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from the College of Wooster.

Branda has served as Acting Assistant Attorney General for six months after Stuart Delery was named Acting Associate Attorney General in September 2014.

"I am indebted to Stuart Delery and Joyce Branda for their recent stewardship of the Civil Division," Mizer said. "Both are exceptional public servants and even better people, and I am honored to be joining a Division that is stronger than ever because of their leadership."

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