The new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana said he is facing a “very steep” learning curve as the top federal prosecutor in the Indianapolis area, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
Joe Hogsett (Bingham McHale LLP)
Joseph Hogsett, who became U.S. Attorney in October, has spent his career representing defendants in civil rights lawsuits and engaging in politics. The former partner at the law firm of Bingham McHale LLP in Indianapolis and onetime chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party has never argued a criminal case in a courtroom.
“I acknowledge that my learning curve is going to be very steep,” Hogsett told the AP. But, he added, “I tend to be a pretty quick study.”
Hogsett underwent “a sort of refresher course in criminal law” after he took office, the AP said. He told the news wire that he can take advantage of the knowledge of the office’s 35 prosecutors when making decisions.
The U.S. Attorney also said he is committed to keeping politics out of his decisions and focusing on Southern Indiana and the Justice Department concerns, including national security and violent crime. The former Indiana secretary of state and candidate for Senate in 1992 and state attorney general in 2004 said U.S. Attorneys “just simply check the politics at the door.”
Hogsett succeeded Susan W. Brooks, who stepped down in 2007.
