Margaret E. Heap has been appointed by the U.S. District Court judges to continue serving as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, with her appointment taking effect immediately following her swearing-in on December 15 in Savannah. The ceremony was held in the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker.
Heap expressed appreciation for her colleagues and law enforcement partners, stating, “The excellent staff in the Southern District of Georgia and our outstanding law enforcement partners continue to work together to keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney Heap. “I am honored to serve alongside these dedicated professionals on behalf of our citizens as we work together to uphold the law and defend access to justice throughout this district.”
Heap was first sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia by U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall on August 18, 2025, after being appointed interim U.S. Attorney by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
Before her current role, Heap served as Chairman and Vice Chair of Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles after being appointed by Governor Brian Kemp in January 2021. Her legal career began in 1986 with Chatham County’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program, followed by earning a Juris Doctorate from Mercer University Law School in 1992.
She later worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit before moving to the Eastern Judicial Circuit, where she served from 1995 to 2010 as both Assistant District Attorney and two-term District Attorney. In recognition of her service, she was named “District Attorney of the Year” by the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia in 2019.
As chief federal law enforcement officer for a region covering 43 counties and more than 1.6 million residents—including cities such as Savannah, Augusta, Brunswick, Statesboro, Dublin, and Waycross—Heap leads about 70 attorneys and staff responsible for prosecuting federal crimes and defending civil cases involving the United States within the district.