The current U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor is well respected and doing a good job, but there’s no way D.C. Del Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has had limited power as a member of Congress, is going to pass up an opportunity to exert her influence and help select a new U.S. Attorney. So far, according to the Legal Times, some names have alreadyh surfaced including former prosecutor Ron Machen and Monty Wilkinson, who recently left the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. to work for Atty. Gen. Eric Holder. This should be an interesting contest.
By Joe Palazzolo
Legal Times
WASHINGTON –The search for the next U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia has begun.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) opened the application process on April 10. The nominating commission she resurrected from the Clinton years will be accepting applications for the post through May 11. (The application can be downloaded from Norton’s Web site.)
The 17-member commission is staggering its work by focusing on the U.S. attorney slot first. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Pauline Schneider, who chairs the commission, says Norton could make applications available for three vacancies on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as soon as the end of this week.
Formally known as the Federal Law Enforcement Nominating Commission, the body will also review candidates for U.S. marshal and other federal officials assigned to the District.
Several names have already surfaced for U.S. attorney. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner Ron Machen, McDermott Will & Emery partner Roy Austin Jr., and D.C. Superior Judge Thomas Motley-all veterans of the office-are said to be considering a run for the job. Monty Wilkinson, who recently left the office’s No. 3 position to join Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.’s staff, has also been named as a potential candidate by several former D.C. federal prosecutors.
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