Neil MacBride
Encyclopedia
Neil H. MacBride is the United States Attorney
for the Eastern District of Virginia. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed MacBride's nomination on Sept. 15, 2009, and he took office three days later. Prior to his appointment by President Barack Obama
, MacBride served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice
.
MacBride formerly served as Vice President, Anti-Piracy and General Counsel, of the Business Software Alliance
, where he oversaw global anti-piracy enforcement and copyright policy. Prior to that, he served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2001-2005. From 1996-2001, MacBride was an Assistant United States Attorney
in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Before his stint in public service, MacBride practice law with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Verner, Liipfert Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, Chartered. He also served as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Houghton College
(N.Y.), where he received in B.A. in History and the Humanities, and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a Barrister with the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Center on Law & Security at New York University.
Under MacBride's tenure, his office prosecuted 48 year old Charlie Engle for allegedly stating a false income on his mortgage application. During the investigation prosecutors used an undercover female agent to seduce Mr. Engle and extract evidence. Mr. Engle was sentenced to almost two years in prison for defaulting on his loan. Meanwhile, the CEO of Countrywide Mortgage Company walks free.. On June 17, 2011, the Washington Times quoted MacBride making the statement: “Marijuana is an addictive, dangerous gateway drug that often leads users to graduate to other deadly narcotics” when it is known that Marijuana is not physically addictive, has never killed anyone via overdose, and has not been proven to be a gateway drug by any established, peer-reviewed scientific research.
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Eastern District of Virginia. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed MacBride's nomination on Sept. 15, 2009, and he took office three days later. Prior to his appointment by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, MacBride served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
.
MacBride formerly served as Vice President, Anti-Piracy and General Counsel, of the Business Software Alliance
Business Software Alliance
The Business Software Alliance is a trade group established in 1988 and representing a number of the world's largest software makers and is a member of the International Intellectual Property Alliance...
, where he oversaw global anti-piracy enforcement and copyright policy. Prior to that, he served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2001-2005. From 1996-2001, MacBride was an Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Before his stint in public service, MacBride practice law with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Verner, Liipfert Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, Chartered. He also served as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Houghton College
Houghton College
Houghton College is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. The college is a member of both the Christian College Consortium and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...
(N.Y.), where he received in B.A. in History and the Humanities, and received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a Barrister with the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Center on Law & Security at New York University.
Under MacBride's tenure, his office prosecuted 48 year old Charlie Engle for allegedly stating a false income on his mortgage application. During the investigation prosecutors used an undercover female agent to seduce Mr. Engle and extract evidence. Mr. Engle was sentenced to almost two years in prison for defaulting on his loan. Meanwhile, the CEO of Countrywide Mortgage Company walks free.. On June 17, 2011, the Washington Times quoted MacBride making the statement: “Marijuana is an addictive, dangerous gateway drug that often leads users to graduate to other deadly narcotics” when it is known that Marijuana is not physically addictive, has never killed anyone via overdose, and has not been proven to be a gateway drug by any established, peer-reviewed scientific research.