D. Michael Dunavant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee | |
| In office September 21, 2017 – February 28, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Edward L. Stanton III |
| Succeeded by | Kevin G. Ritz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Michael Dunavant 1970 (age 54–55) Millington, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Spouse | Marianne |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Tennessee (BA) University of Mississippi (JD) |
David Michael Dunavant (born 1970) is an American lawyer who served as theUnited States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee from 2017 to 2021. He formerly served as the District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District in Tennessee from 2006 to 2017.[1]
Dunavant received hisBachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Tennessee in 1992 and hisJuris Doctor from theUniversity of Mississippi School of Law in 1995.
Dunavant worked as a lawyer at the firm of Carney, Wilder & Dunavant from 1995 to 2006. From 2006 to 2017, Dunavant served as District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District in Tennessee.[2]
In June 2017, Dunavant was nominated by PresidentDonald Trump to become theUnited States Attorney for theWestern District of Tennessee. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on September 14, 2017; becoming the chief law-enforcement officer for the 22 counties that make up Tennessee's western judicial district, which includes theMemphis area.[2]
According to Ryan J. Reilly inHuffPost, Dunavant is "an unflinching critic ofcriminal justice reformers." Dunavanttweeted, "The U.S. does have a very large prison population: not because too many innocent people are incarcerated; but because too many people commit serious, usually violent crimes. That’s why most people are imprisoned in America. Period. Full stop."[3] He criticizedAlice Marie Johnson, a 64-year-old federal prisoner whose sentence was commuted by Trump in 2018 to time served, after Johnson had been imprisoned for 21 years of a life sentence for involvement in a cocaine trafficking operation.[3][4][5] Dunavant opposed a request by Johnson to end her term of supervised release; he called Johnson a drug "kingpin"[6] and said, "Uninformed members of the public continue to celebrate her criminality."[4]
On February 8, 2021, he along with 55 other Trump-era attorneys were asked to resign.[7] On February 10, Dunavant announced his resignation, effective February 28.[8]