Sanford C. Coats

Sanford Coats
Western District of Oklahoma
anford C. Coats was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma on December 30, 2009. From February 2010 to February 2011, he served on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys and continues to serve on several subcommittees.

Coats received a B.A. from Tulane University in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1998. While in law school, he was a Legal Intern for U.S. District Judge Tim Leonard and a Law Clerk for Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Marian Opala. Coats was in private practice in Oklahoma City from 1999 to 2004.

Coats became an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in 2004. He has worked in all areas of the Criminal Division and served as the Major Crimes Team Leader and the PSC Coordinator. In 2007, Coats volunteered for assignment to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina to assist in the prosecution of violent, firearm and drug crime. Also in 2007, Coats received a Director’s Award from the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys for Superior Performance as an AUSA for the prosecution of multiple child prostitution cases.

Coats served on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma City Chapter of the FBA from 2004-08, including a term as President, and as Co-Chairman of the 2009 FBA Annual Meeting and Convention in Oklahoma City. He has served on the Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School Alumni Board, the Harding Fine Arts Academy Board of Directors, and the Oklahoma Bar Association Law School Committee. Coats and his wife Danielle have three children.