News Release
October 20, 2026
Contact: Public Affairs
UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION NAMES ROSS THOMAS
COMMISSION GENERAL COUNSEL
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― The United States Sentencing Commission has announced the appointment of Ross Thomas to serve as its General Counsel. Mr. Thomas has served the agency since 2020, most recently as Deputy Director of the Commission’s Office of Education and Sentencing Practice. He succeeds former General Counsel Kathleen Cooper Grilli, who recently retired after serving at the agency for over 22 years total, and as General Counsel for over 12 years.
“After a nationwide search to fill this vacancy, the Commission is thrilled to announce the selection of someone as knowledgeable, creative, and brilliant as Ross,” said Commission Chair Carlton W. Reeves. “Ross will be a familiar face to many, having taught thousands of probation officers, judges, attorneys, and others about our guidelines and the laws implicating them. Along with his years of experience as a practitioner, the talents and expertise Ross developed during his time at the Commission will be invaluable in the work ahead.”
During his six years of service at the Commission, Mr. Thomas also served as Senior Attorney in the Commission’s Office of Education and Sentencing Practices and as a staff member of several sentencing policy teams. He previously served as an assistant federal public defender for the District of Connecticut, a law clerk to the Honorable Vanessa L. Bryant of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, and a staff attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Columbia University, and law degree from Cornell Law School.
# # #
The United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the judicial branch of the federal government, was organized in 1985 to develop a national sentencing policy for the federal courts. The resulting sentencing guidelines provide structure for the courts’ sentencing discretion to help ensure that similar defendants who commit similar offenses receive similar sentences.