Justice Dept. Names Interim U.S Attorney

First Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy will step in temporarily to replace U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, who resigned as the top prosecutor in the Western District of Texas. According to the Express-News:

Murphy has spent nearly 34 years in the Western District, 14 of them as the first assistant U.S. attorney. He will hold the job until the Obama administration nominates a U.S. attorney, a process that requires Senate confirmation.

According to Murphy's State Bar of Texas member directory entry, he's a 1972 St. Mary's grad.

Who Will Be the Next U.S. Attorney?

Now that Johnny Sutton, the somewhat controversial U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, has announced his retirement (his last day will be April 19), who will take over his job?

Maybe an attorney from San Antonio--one with a St. Mary's connection. According to news reports, potential replacements include:

• Travis County Attorney (and U.T. grad) David Escamilla
• San Antonio City Attorney (and St. Mary's alumnus) Michael Bernard
• private practice attorney and former federal prosecutor (and former St. Mary's adjunct professor in trial advocacy) Michael McCrum (read about him in his own words here)

I would love to see a San Antonio attorney step into this office, but who knows?

Hat tip: Grits For Breakfast

New U.S. Attorney Candidates

Over at Grits for Breakfast, Scott Henson solicits rumors on who the Obama administration will pick for the top federal prosecutor slots in Texas.

He points to a Dallas Morning News article mentioning five candidates for the Northern District spot, but here in the Western District, there's just one name being floated: Travis County Attorney David Escamilla. He would replace current U.S. Attorney Johhny Sutton.

No mention of possible picks for the Eastern or Southern districts.