NMC Discusses US Attorney Rumors

I expect most readers of this blog also read NMissCommentator, ably moderated by Oxford attorney Tom Freeland. But in case you don't, Tom has latched onto a website that keeps track of the various rumors surrounding the President's appointment of United States Attorneys for the Federal District Courts. The U.S. Attorney is the equivalent of the State District Attorney: he or she is the chief Federal prosecutor in the District, and also represents the Federal Government in civil suits. Mississippi is divided into a Northern and Southern District for this purpose.

NMC's post about the possible Mississippi nominees is here; a foll-up post is here.

As MainJustice reports:

Here are the names we’ve heard for the Northern District: Circuit Court Judge Thomas Gardner of Tupelo and Oxford attorney Christi McCoy. We’ve heard rumors - but can’t confirm — that McCoy may have hit some kind of snag in the vetting process. Through an aide, all Gardner would say is that he “has no way of confirming” any information about his potential candidacy. McCoy did not return a phone call seeking comment. We also heard Cindy Mitchell of Clarksdale mentioned for the post.

For the Southern District, the names we’ve heard are Kathy Nester, a Jackson attorney; Deborah McDonald, a lawyer in Natchez; and Dorsey Carson of Jackson. Mississippi bloggers have also mentioned Constance Slaughter-Harvey of Forest. Slaughter-Harvey is an old friend of Thompson and was the first black woman to graduate from the University of Mississippi law school.

So, I can't say you heard it here first, but you did hear it here.