Four new Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) have been appointed to the Western District of Tennessee, according to United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz. Mary Morris, Jermal Blanchard, Courtney Lewis, and Bryce Phillips will all work out of the Memphis office, with Morris serving as Appellate Chief and Special Counsel, Blanchard assigned to the Firearms and Violent Crimes Unit, Lewis to the General Crimes Unit, and Phillips to the Organized Crime and Narcotics Unit.
Ritz praised the appointments, saying: “With the hiring of Mary, Jermal, Courtney, and Bryce, we have recruited top legal talent to fulfill the Department’s mission of upholding the rule of law, protecting civil rights, and keeping Americans safe. These four attorneys are already hard at work promoting and defending the interests of our great country. I’m thankful for their commitment to a career in federal public service.”
Mary Morris comes to the office from the University of Memphis School of Law, where she was a professor and previously worked as a member at Burch, Porter & Johnson in Memphis, where she focused on federal litigation, including criminal and habeas matters. Morris has previously served as a clerk for Judge Julia Gibbons of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. She holds degrees from the University of Alabama and Yale Law School.
Jermal Blanchard joins the office from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, where he was a prosecutor for over six years. He has extensive experience in the courtroom and has handled a range of complex criminal cases, including murder, human trafficking, and sexual abuse. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis and Florida Coastal School of Law.
Courtney Lewis joins the office from the United States Navy, where she has had a successful career as a Judge Advocate for 16 years and is certified as a military judge. She has extensive experience as a prosecutor, having litigated several dozen criminal jury trials and supervised thousands of additional investigations and trials. She holds degrees from Villanova University and Suffolk University Law School.
Bryce Phillips also joins the office from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, where he served as a prosecutor for over a decade. He has managed numerous criminal investigations and tried dozens of cases, and served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2017 to 2019. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis School of Law.