Familiar face sworn in as U.S. attorney

The newly sworn-in U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York said Monday that the law "pushes us to our better selves," and "when we are confronted with evil that walks the Earth we turn to the law."

This is the second time Loretta Lynch has headed the Eastern District office, which was established by Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Lynch served as the 36th U.S. attorney for the district from 1999 to 2001.

Before that, Lynch headed the Long Island branch of the U.S. attorney's office from 1994 to 1998.

She took over the Eastern District office in May when she was sworn in as the district's 40th U.S. attorney in a private ceremony. Last night, she was sworn in publicly before a standing-room-only crowd at the Brooklyn Law School.

As the U.S. attorney, Lynch is the principal federal law enforcer for Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. She supervises a staff of 170 assistant U.S. attorneys and 150 support personnel based in Brooklyn and Central Islip.

Among the high-profile cases she has worked on during her career have been public corruption in the Town of Brookhaven and the prosecution of New York City police officers who were involved in the sexual abuse of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.

A graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School, Lynch has also worked as a litigator in private practice.

In introducing her, Attorney General Eric Holder, who grew up in Queens, said, "It's a great comfort to know my hometown is in capable hands."