Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General Hardy Myers today announced the appointment of Steven Briggs as Chief Counsel of the Criminal Justice Division of the Oregon Department of Justice. The Chief Counsel is the administrative head of the Division.

"Steve will provide exceptional leadership in our criminal justice activities," Myers said. "His unwavering commitment to our Department's public safety partnership with other state, federal and local law enforcement, and his extensive prosecutorial experience, will be a great benefit to our Department and to our state."

The Criminal Justice Division was created within the Department of Justice by law in 1974. The Division's programs and functions are organized into three sections: District Attorney Assistance, Organized Crime and Crime Victims' Assistance. The Division also manages the Oregon State Intelligence Network, the state's criminal intelligence database; the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which targets areas of concentrated use of illegal substances; and the Cooperative Disability Investigation Unit, a collaborative state and federal program that identifies and rectifies abuses of the Social Security system.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Counsel, Briggs served as Attorney-in-Charge of the Organized Crime Section. His work with the department includes many successful prosecutions including Christian Longo. Briggs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and law degree from the University of Oregon. Before joining the Oregon Department of Justice, Briggs served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and a Deputy District Attorney of Washington County.

Briggs will assume his new responsibilities immediately.