{{Short description|American attorney (born 1969)}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Bobby Christine | image = MG Bobby L. Christine (2).jpg | office = 43rd Judge Advocate General of the Army | term_label = | president = {{ubl|Donald Trump}} | 1blankname = Secretary | 1namedata = Daniel P. Driscoll | term_start = July 1, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = LTG Joseph B. Berger III<br />MG Robert A. Borcherding (acting) | successor = | office1 = District Attorney of the Columbia County Judicial Circuit | term_start1 = July 22, 2021 | term_end1 = June 30, 2025 | appointer1 = Brian Kemp | predecessor1 = Circuit established | office2 = United States Attorney for the {{nowrap|Northern District of Georgia}} | term_label2 = Acting | president2 = {{ubl|Donald Trump|Joe Biden}} | term_start2 = January 4, 2021 | term_end2 = February 1, 2021 | predecessor2 = B. J. Pak | successor2 = Kurt Erskine (acting) | office3 = United States Attorney for the {{nowrap|Southern District of Georgia}} | president3 = {{ubl|Donald Trump|Joe Biden}} | term_start3 = November 22, 2017 | term_end3 = February 9, 2021 | predecessor3 = Ed Tarver | successor3 = Jill E. Steinberg | birth_name = Bobby Lee Christine | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|9|17}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Sheri Christine | relations = Admiral Brian Christine (brother)<ref name="Brian Christine">{{Cite web |title=Facebook -The Austin Rhodes Show |url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02Vrz6oU2f2aLcSQHwhkGFdB6RVCXLHC3vDt5mN4CwY3TSWscQhJL6YWAz1NnrSti7l&id=100044196440904&rdid=qtZXVGI3LDnSRaNt# |date=2025-11-12 |access-date=2025-11-20 |website=Facebook}}</ref> | education = Georgia Military College (AA)<br>University of Georgia (BA)<br>Samford University (JD)<br>United States Army War College (MA) | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{flag|United States Army}} | service_years = 1986–present | rank = Major General | unit = U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps<br>265th Engineer Group<br>United States Army Reserve<br>Georgia National Guard | commands = U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps | battles = Iraq War<br>Global war on terrorism | mawards = U.S. Army Parachutist Badge<br>Legion of Merit<br>Meritorious Service Medal<br>Bronze Star Medal }}
'''Bobby Lee Christine'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/mr-bobby-lee-christine-873356/ |title=Mr. Bobby Lee Christine Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com |website=www.martindale.com}}</ref> (born September 17, 1969) is an American attorney, military officer, and former judge. Since July 2025, he has served as the 43rd judge advocate general of the Army, the senior uniformed lawyer in the United States Army.<ref name="jag corps">{{cite web|url=https://www.jagcnet.army.mil/Home/public/leader.html|title=The Judge Advocate General's Corps Leadership|access-date=2025-07-04|website=Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Hotchkiss|first=Joe|url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/military/2025/06/20/trump-nominates-columbia-county-da-to-become-army-top-jag-officer-bobby-christine-legal-senate/84286206007/|title=Columbia County DA Bobby Christine nominated for U.S. Army's top legal post|date=2025-06-20|access-date=2025-07-05|newspaper=The Augusta Chronicle}}</ref> Simultaneously the district attorney of the Columbia County Judicial Circuit since July 2021, Christine was previously the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia from 2017 to 2021. He briefly also served as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in 2021. Christine was previously an Assistant District Attorney in Augusta, Georgia.<ref>{{cite news|title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Sixth Wave of United States Attorney Nominations|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2017/09/08/president-donald-j-trump-announces-sixth-wave-united-states-attorney|access-date=23 October 2017|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|date=September 8, 2017}}</ref> He is a former magistrate judge in Columbia County, Georgia, and partner at the law firm of Christine and Evans LLC.
==Education== Christine earned undergraduate degrees from Georgia Military College and the University of Georgia, and his Juris Doctor from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.<ref name="USAO">{{Cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga/meet-us-attorney |title=Meet the U.S. Attorney |date=2015-04-08 |language=en |access-date=2018-08-09}}</ref> He has a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.<ref name = southern/>
==Career== He worked as a prosecutor in the Augusta district attorney's office for a decade. From 2005 until 2017 he was a judge of the Magistrate Court for Columbia County, serving as chief magistrate from 2009 to 2012. He also maintained a private practice until 2017.<ref name = southern/>
Christine is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, having joined the Army National Guard at age 17 and earned his commission as an officer at age 19. He remains a reservist as of 2025 with the rank of major general. Christine entered the U.S. Army JAG Corps.<ref name = southern/> Christine has served as a combat engineer platoon leader, company executive officer, Judge Advocate General Trial Counsel, Brigade Judge Advocate, and State Judge Advocate. He earned several medals, including the Bronze Star, for meritorious service after spending time in Iraq as a Judge Advocate General and a combat engineer with the 265th Engineer Group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump nominates Christine for U.S. Attorney|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/2017-09-09/trump-nominates-christine-us-attorney|access-date=23 October 2017|publisher=The Augusta Chronicle|date=September 9, 2017|archive-date=2017-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043525/http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/2017-09-09/trump-nominates-christine-us-attorney|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia=== On September 11, 2017, Christine was nominated to be the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia by President Donald Trump.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hallerman|first1=Tamar|title=Trump picks Augusta lawyer to be U.S. attorney|url=http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/09/08/trump-picks-augusta-lawyer-to-be-u-s-attorney/|access-date=23 October 2017|publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=September 8, 2017|archive-date=24 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024043500/http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/09/08/trump-picks-augusta-lawyer-to-be-u-s-attorney/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote on November 15, 2017, and sworn into office on November 22, 2017.
=== Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia === On January 5, 2021, Trump named Christine the Acting United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after B. J. Pak abruptly resigned from the post the prior day.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gerstein|first=Josh|title=Trump replaces U.S. attorney in Atlanta|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/05/trump-replaces-us-attorney-atlanta-455053|access-date=2021-01-05|website=POLITICO|date=5 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Reportedly, Trump expected Christine to support his claims of election fraud in Georgia, which Pak had refused to do. However, a few days after taking office, Christine privately informed his staff that "there's just nothing to" those allegations, and he never said anything publicly on the subject.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/11/politics/pak-trump-georgia-election-testimony/index.html|title=Former US attorney tells investigators he quit because he heard Trump was considering firing him|last1=Sneed|first1=Tierney|last2=Raju|first2=Manu|date=August 22, 2021|work=CNN|access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref>
The U.S. Attorney's office announced Christine's resignation on February 1, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-appointed-atlanta-us-attorney-resigns|title=Trump-appointed Atlanta US attorney resigns from post|date=February 1, 2021|website=Washington Examiner}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/atlanta-us-attorney-bobby-christine-trump-byung-pak/2021/02/01/a94a9cd6-64a6-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html|title=Atlanta U.S. attorney, appointed by Trump amid post-election pressure campaign, resigns|first=Matt|last=Zapotosky|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref> His resignation was effective February 9.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdga/pr/us-attorney-bobby-l-christine-reflects-success-southern-district-georgia|title=U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine reflects on success for Southern District of Georgia|date=February 9, 2021|website=www.justice.gov}}</ref>
===District attorney for Columbia County=== In April 2021 he was appointed the first district attorney for Columbia County, Georgia, whose judicial circuit was split from that of Richmond County in March.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wrdw.com/2021/04/29/bobby-christine-announced-as-columbia-countys-first-district-attorney/|title=Bobby Christine announced as Columbia County district attorney|last=Harris|first=Kennedi|date=April 28, 2021|work=WRDW|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref>
===Major general and Judge Advocate General=== Christine was promoted to the two-star rank of major general on February 1, 2024, making him the first reserve component officer in the Army's Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps to achieve this rank since the Corps' inception in 1775.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gmc.edu/9756-2/|title=Georgia Military College Alumnus Bobby Christine Promoted to Major General in U.S. Army National Guard|date=2024-03-01|access-date=2025-07-06|website=Georgia Military College}}</ref> As a major general, Christine served as acting general counsel of the National Guard Bureau, while concurrently exercising duties as Columbia County district attorney.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hotchkiss |first1=Joe |title=Columbia County DA heads to DC in major general's uniform for National Guard leadership post |url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/local/2025/02/06/columbia-county-da-to-lead-legal-affairs-for-entire-national-guard-army-augusta-major-general/78259187007/ |website=augustachronicle.com |publisher=The Augusta Chronicle |access-date=6 May 2025}}</ref>
In June 2025, Christine was nominated for appointment as the judge advocate general of the Army; upon confirmation by the Senate, he assumed the office on July 1, 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/119th-congress/353|title=PN353 — Maj. Gen. Bobby L. Christine — Army, 119th Congress (2025-2026)|date=2025-06-17|access-date=2025-06-19|website=U.S. Congress}}</ref><ref name="jag corps"/>
==Personal life== He and his wife Sheri have three children and live in Evans, Georgia.<ref name = southern>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/usao-sdga/meet-us-attorney-Christine|title=Former United States Attorney Bobby Christine|work=United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia|date=8 April 2015 |access-date=12 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-26 |title=Secretary of Defense General Officer Announcements for June 26, 2025 |url=https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4227340/secretary-of-defense-general-officer-announcements-for-june-26-2025/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref> Christine is also the brother of U.S. Public Health Service Admiral Brian Christine, the 18th assistant secretary for health.<ref name="Brian Christine"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.justice.gov/usao/biographies/Christine Biography at U.S. Department of Justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309055735/https://www.justice.gov/usao/biographies/Christine |date=2018-03-09 }}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Ed Tarver}} {{s-ttl|title=United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia|years=2017–2021}} {{s-aft|after=Jill E. Steinberg}} |- {{s-bef|before=B. J. Pak}} {{s-ttl|title=United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia<br />{{small|Acting}}|years=2021}} {{s-aft|after=Kurt Erskine<br />{{small|Acting}}}} |- {{s-new|office}} {{s-ttl|title=District Attorney of the Columbia County Judicial Circuit|years=2021–present}} {{s-inc}} |- {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Robert A. Borcherding<br />{{small|Acting}}}} {{s-ttl|title=Judge Advocate General of the United States Army|years=2025–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christine, Bobby}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:21st-century American judges Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:Cumberland School of Law alumni Category:Georgia (U.S. state) state court judges Category:People from Columbia County, Georgia Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:United States Army generals Category:United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Category:United States attorneys for the Southern District of Georgia Category:University of Georgia alumni Category:Georgia Military College alumni