Politics

Resignation is unlikely to affect Florida appointment

The state awaits the selection of a U.S. attorney for the north and central region.

By KEVIN GRAHAM, Times Staff Writer
Published August 28, 2007

TAMPA - Selecting a new U.S. attorney for the north and central Florida region should proceed as planned, despite U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation, say lawyers familiar with the process.

"I wouldn't see this as hampering it at all," said Michael L. Seigel, a University of Florida law professor and former first assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, which includes Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando and Ocala. "Typically, the attorney general doesn't get involved in the selection of the individual U.S. attorneys."

The field of candidates to replace former U.S. Attorney Paul Perez in the Middle District has been narrowed to three: A. Brian Albritton, Dennis Moore and F.T. "Frank" Williams. A judicial nominating commission sent the top choices to Sen. Mel Martinez, who will meet with Sen. Bill Nelson before sending a final recommendation to the White House.

In a statement Monday from Nelson's Washington, D.C., office, the senator said, "We have an urgent need to restore credibility at the Justice Department. My hope is that President Bush's new pick will take politics out of enforcing the law."

Tampa defense attorney Steve Crawford, a former federal prosecutor, said that Gonzales' resignation will depoliticize the process for hiring Perez's replacement in Florida.

"One of the primary concerns about the attorney general was his politicizing of the U.S. attorney position," Crawford said. "I think the pendulum will have swung the other way and this choice will perhaps be less of a political choice."

Any effect on selecting a new U.S. attorney for the Middle District would be minimal, said Marcos Marchena, chairman of the federal Judicial Nominating Commission.

"I don't think that the resignation by the attorney general will have a serious impact, other than slowing things down," Marchena said. "It's tough for us to tell. Obviously, the question is best put to the White House. But from a practical standpoint, you would assume it would take backstage to this."

Kevin Graham can be reached at kgraham@sptimes.com or 813 226-3433.

[Last modified August 28, 2007, 01:41:09]