Post by Okwes on Apr 18, 2007 14:16:04 GMT -5
Hopi may head U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona
By Josh Brodesky
Arizona District U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton is set to step down Thursday, and a
historic precedent may very well follow. Earlier this month,
Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl recommended Diane J. Humetewa
to replace Charlton, who served as top prosecutor for a little more than
five years. Humetewa is a member of the Hopi Tribe and has since 2001
been a senior litigator and tribal liaison for the U.S. Attorney's
Office. If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, Humetewa would be
the first American Indian to serve as a U.S. attorney. She would also
take the prosecutorial reins in a district defined by a rising number of
immigration prosecutions. There were more than 5,000 cases referred to
prosecution in 2005, more than double the number in 2001. "The system
has no capacity," said Mark Miller, a professor with the University of
Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, when asked about the prospect
of more and more immigration prosecutions. But before Humetewa can
take on the many challenges and aftereffects of increasing the number of
immigration prosecutions, she must overcome the hurdles of being
nominated to the job. While her recommendation makes her a
front-runner, she has yet to receive the nomination. Moreover, there
have been a number of reports in the media about how U.S. Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales has since March selected nine U.S. attorneys
with limited prosecutorial experience but with ties to the White House
or the Justice Department. "All I know is that the Department of
Justice acted very quickly and scheduled an interview with her," Kyl
said when asked if he knew when or if Humetewa would get the nomination.
Just what happens in the interim is even foggier. Wyn Hornbuckle, a
spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said Friday � less than a
week before Charlton's last day � that he didn't know who would be
the interim replacement. Under the USA Patriot Act, Gonzales can
appoint interim replacements for indefinite periods of time.
Humetewa, 42, declined an interview request, but she has received
widespread support from the state's congressional delegation.
Democratic Rep. Ra�l Grijalva, who represents South and West Tucson
as well as much of Southern Arizona, said he was "glad that people went
with the right choice" in recommending her. "Based on her
qualifications, she should get the appointment," he said. According to
her biography, Humetewa began her career as a victims' advocate in the
U.S. Attorney's Office, where she worked for four years. She graduated
from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in
1993 and went on to work for McCain for three years while he chaired the
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. From 1996 to 1998, she
worked as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice, focusing on major
crimes on reservations as well as law enforcement training on federal
law regarding violence against women and children. In her current
role in the U.S. Attorney's Office, she works with Arizona's tribes on
civil and criminal litigation. "The impression that I had was that
she is well-liked by people within the office, and that she would follow
both the pattern of Paul Charlton's leadership as well as what the
attorney general (Gonzales) had on his agenda in terms of initiatives,"
Kyl said. That would almost certainly mean continuing to ramp up the
district's prosecution of illegal entrants. The Arizona District has
seen a spike in cases referred to prosecution in recent years. In 2001,
there were 2,155 immigration cases referred to prosecution. By 2005, the
number had jumped to 5,231, according to statistics provided by the
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan organization
affiliated with Syracuse University that monitors federal staffing,
spending and law enforcement. With immigration prosecutions in border
districts on the rise in recent years, Miller, of the UA's law school,
said the biggest challenge for the next U.S. attorney here � be it
Humetewa or anyone else � is how to balance the pressure to
prosecute more and more immigration cases with the need to serve all
other facets of federal criminal law. "Where do we put them?" he
asked. "How do you pay for that? What crime do you not want to be
prosecuted given the resources? � What should the next U.S. attorney
do?" Find more immigration-related stories and multimedia features at
azstarnet.com/border
By Josh Brodesky
Arizona District U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton is set to step down Thursday, and a
historic precedent may very well follow. Earlier this month,
Republican Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl recommended Diane J. Humetewa
to replace Charlton, who served as top prosecutor for a little more than
five years. Humetewa is a member of the Hopi Tribe and has since 2001
been a senior litigator and tribal liaison for the U.S. Attorney's
Office. If nominated and confirmed by the Senate, Humetewa would be
the first American Indian to serve as a U.S. attorney. She would also
take the prosecutorial reins in a district defined by a rising number of
immigration prosecutions. There were more than 5,000 cases referred to
prosecution in 2005, more than double the number in 2001. "The system
has no capacity," said Mark Miller, a professor with the University of
Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, when asked about the prospect
of more and more immigration prosecutions. But before Humetewa can
take on the many challenges and aftereffects of increasing the number of
immigration prosecutions, she must overcome the hurdles of being
nominated to the job. While her recommendation makes her a
front-runner, she has yet to receive the nomination. Moreover, there
have been a number of reports in the media about how U.S. Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales has since March selected nine U.S. attorneys
with limited prosecutorial experience but with ties to the White House
or the Justice Department. "All I know is that the Department of
Justice acted very quickly and scheduled an interview with her," Kyl
said when asked if he knew when or if Humetewa would get the nomination.
Just what happens in the interim is even foggier. Wyn Hornbuckle, a
spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said Friday � less than a
week before Charlton's last day � that he didn't know who would be
the interim replacement. Under the USA Patriot Act, Gonzales can
appoint interim replacements for indefinite periods of time.
Humetewa, 42, declined an interview request, but she has received
widespread support from the state's congressional delegation.
Democratic Rep. Ra�l Grijalva, who represents South and West Tucson
as well as much of Southern Arizona, said he was "glad that people went
with the right choice" in recommending her. "Based on her
qualifications, she should get the appointment," he said. According to
her biography, Humetewa began her career as a victims' advocate in the
U.S. Attorney's Office, where she worked for four years. She graduated
from Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in
1993 and went on to work for McCain for three years while he chaired the
U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. From 1996 to 1998, she
worked as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice, focusing on major
crimes on reservations as well as law enforcement training on federal
law regarding violence against women and children. In her current
role in the U.S. Attorney's Office, she works with Arizona's tribes on
civil and criminal litigation. "The impression that I had was that
she is well-liked by people within the office, and that she would follow
both the pattern of Paul Charlton's leadership as well as what the
attorney general (Gonzales) had on his agenda in terms of initiatives,"
Kyl said. That would almost certainly mean continuing to ramp up the
district's prosecution of illegal entrants. The Arizona District has
seen a spike in cases referred to prosecution in recent years. In 2001,
there were 2,155 immigration cases referred to prosecution. By 2005, the
number had jumped to 5,231, according to statistics provided by the
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a nonpartisan organization
affiliated with Syracuse University that monitors federal staffing,
spending and law enforcement. With immigration prosecutions in border
districts on the rise in recent years, Miller, of the UA's law school,
said the biggest challenge for the next U.S. attorney here � be it
Humetewa or anyone else � is how to balance the pressure to
prosecute more and more immigration cases with the need to serve all
other facets of federal criminal law. "Where do we put them?" he
asked. "How do you pay for that? What crime do you not want to be
prosecuted given the resources? � What should the next U.S. attorney
do?" Find more immigration-related stories and multimedia features at
azstarnet.com/border