SAVANNAH, GA: Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announces his resignation from the presidentially appointed position where he has served since Nov. 22, 2017. Christine will return to the private practice of law in the Augusta, Ga., area.
The resignation, previously announced internally, is effective Tuesday, Feb. 9.
“It has been my distinct honor and privilege to serve the people of the 43 counties of the Southern District as their chief federal prosecutor and law enforcement officer,” said Christine. “I am proud to have worked alongside an unparalleled team of lawyers and staff in assisting our law enforcement partners to make our communities safer.”
Leaders in the law enforcement community offered accolades regarding Christine’s service.
“I want to thank U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine on behalf of FBI Atlanta and our resident agencies in the Southern District of Georgia for his dedication and partnership in our efforts to protect and serve the citizens of his district,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “His commitment and accomplishments are something Georgians and all Americans can be proud of. It has been an honor and privilege to work with him and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
“The citizens of the Southern District of Georgia were well-served by U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine,” said Robert Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Bobby epitomizes public service. He is guided by the principles of doing what is right and making the community a safer place. Bobby worked hand in hand with law enforcement on a daily basis to make sure we were bringing to justice those who preyed on our community. I am honored to have had a chance to work alongside Bobby, but more importantly I am proud to call him a friend. I wish Bobby well in all of his future endeavors. I look forward to working with him in the future in service of this great nation.”
“U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine has done much to reduce violent crime in our Southern Georgia communities. He has served with honor and distinction because at his core, he values faith, honor, family and commitment above all else,” said Arthur D. Peralta, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “As the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of Georgia, U.S. Attorney Christine has inspired all of us to go further and do more with the resources we have. Our mission to reduce violent crime will continue unabated, due in large part to the path that U.S. Attorney Christine has put us on. I join all members of the ATF Atlanta Field Division in wishing U.S. Attorney Christine all the best.”
“I have known Bobby Christine for more than 20 years in his capacity as prosecutor/judge and consider him a great friend,” said Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree. “U.S. Attorney Christine has been a consummate professional in every position that he has ever held, and I look forward to what the future has in store for him. We all know that he will continue to be a great advocate for law enforcement and the justice system. Again, I want to thank U.S. Attorney Christine for his many contributions.”
“Shortly after being appointed U.S. Attorney three years ago, Bobby Christine visited our office in Thomson to let us know that he was ready to use the resources of the federal government to help make our communities a safer place to live, work and raise a family,” said William Doupe, District Attorney for the Toombs Judicial Circuit. “Through Bobby’s cooperative venture program of Prosecutor to Prosecutor, we were able to send some of the most violent convicted felons who still chose to illegally possess firearms in our circuit to federal court where they received lengthy sentences without parole. Without a doubt, this program saved lives. These prosecutions also allowed our office to try the cases with victims who were anxiously awaiting resolution. Thank you, Bobby, for all you have done for the citizens of the Toombs Circuit.”
As U.S. Attorney, Christine implemented the Prosecutor to Prosecutor Program, or P3, a partnership between the U.S. Attorney’s Office, state and local law enforcement, and the 11 state District Attorneys’ offices that intersect the Southern District. The U.S. Attorney’s Office under Christine generated a dramatic increase in prosecutions – including the pursuit of felony illegal firearms charges against an additional 650 defendants in three years. Coupled with invigorated efforts to combat violent crime, the last three years has witnessed the office consistently being among the most productive in the nation per lawyer in prosecution of violent crime.
Christine lauds the success of the office’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Division in pursuing civil proceedings against criminal defendants in recovering nearly $160 million in taxpayers’ money lost to fraud or other misconduct. The office’s Criminal Health Care Fraud Unit rose to third-ranking status among the nation’s 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices as it prosecuted a ring of more than 30 defendants responsible for more than $1.5 billion in fraudulent health care claims. By cutting staff sections and unifying leadership, Christine created the Asset Recovery Unit, resulting in the recovery of additional tens of millions of dollars for victims and the United States.
With the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and an NSA facility located on Fort Gordon in the Southern District, Christine was honored in 2017 to be amongst the first of a small group of U.S. Attorneys to be named to help lead the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on Cyber and Intellectual Property. Christine has participated in providing essential guidance and counsel to the U.S. Department of Justice relative to cyber initiatives during his entire tenure.
A graduate of Georgia Military College (Milledgeville), the University of Georgia, Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, and the U.S. Army War College, Christine worked for a decade in the District Attorney’s Office in Augusta, where he became the first Chief of the Columbia County Division. He is one of only a few prosecutors in modern Georgia to win a conviction for murder in a case where the body of the victim has never been located.
Appointed Judge of Columbia County Magistrate Court in 2005, he held that post continuously until his appointment as U.S. Attorney, serving as Chief Magistrate from 2009-2012. From 2005 to 2017, Bobby also maintained a private practice concentrating in domestic, probate, personal injury, and criminal litigation.
Bobby has been an Army reservist since the age of 17, both as a Combat Engineer and a Judge Advocate. It is in uniformed military service where Christine first received education in cyber legal issues. A Brigadier General in the Army National Guard with duty at the Pentagon, he currently serves as the National Guard Advisor to the Judge Advocate General and Assistant to the General Counsel of the National Guard Bureau. He is a veteran of the war in Iraq.
He and his wife Sheri, an elementary school teacher for Columbia County where they make their home, have two daughters and one son.