David Nahmias (gov)

Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney David Nahmias is among the candidates the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission recommended to fill a state supreme court vacancy, The Daily Citizen reported this afternoon. Gov. Sonny Perdue will interview Nahmias and eight other candidates to replace retiring Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears.

Missing from the list is controversial former Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Rick Thompson, who was considered by the panel. Thompson, a Bush holdover, resigned in 2004 after an internal Justice Department probe discovered that he improperly used his power by threatening to investigate Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes and state Sen. Van Streat during their 2002 re-election campaigns.

Atlanta native Nahmias has extensive experience working on legal issues. He graduated from Harvard Law and is  a former clerk for D.C. U.S. Circuit Judge Judge Laurence H. Silberman and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He spent several years in the Criminal Division at Main Justice, as a former counsel to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and later as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the division.

“I appreciate the significant amount of time and effort JNC members put into this process,” Perdue told The Daily Citizen. “I look forward to meeting with each of the nominees individually and making a selection to the state’s highest court.”

Controversial former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Rick Thompson is before a state judicial nominating commission selecting finalists for a state supreme court vacancy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this afternoon.

Thompson was appointed by President Bush to his post in 2001. He resigned in 2004 after an internal Justice Department probe discovered that he improperly used his power by threatening to investigate Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes and state Sen. Van Streat during their 2002 re-election campaigns, The Journal Constitution said. He is now a partner at Georgia law firm Drew Eckl & Farnham.

Rick Thompson (Drew Eckl & Farnham)

We previously reported that U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia David Nahmias has also been nominated to replace Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who will leave the bench to join a law firm on June 30, according to The Journal-Constitution.

A commission will begin reviewing the nominees on June 4, and make its  recommendations to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who will then fill the vacancy, The Journal-Constitution said.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia David Nahmias’s name is before a state judicial nominating commission selecting finalists for a state supreme court vacancy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.

David Nahmias (gov)

Atlanta native Nahmias is a legal star. He graduated from Harvard Law and is  a former clerk for U.S. Circuit Judge Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the  District of Columbia and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He worked several years in the Criminal Division at Main Justice, as a former counsel to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff and later as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the division.

At the Criminal Division, Nahmias supervised the Counterterrorism and Fraud Sections, the Enron Task Force, the Appellate Section and the Capital Case Unit. Read his bio here.

Nahmias, a Bush-holdover who became a U.S. Attorney in 2004, is one of a dozen nominees to replace Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, who will leave the bench to join a law firm on June 30, according to The Journal-Constitution. A commission will begin reviewing the nominees on June 4, and make its  recommendations to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who will then fill the vacancy, The Journal-Constitution said.

Sears had been floated as a possible replacement for retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. President Obama, of course, ultimately gave the nod to Sonia Sotomayor.