Not many people have risen so high in the legal profession and then fallen so low as former federal Judge Jack T. Camp.

Once the Chief Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, Camp is now trying to stay out of jail, having been brought down by misadventures involving drugs and a stripper. To some people, he is no doubt a laughingstock, the stuff of late-night television comics. But his lawyers say he should be viewed as a tragic figure and that, at 67, he should not have to spend his final days behind bars.

In a memo filed in federal court in  Atlanta on Friday, and reported by Allen Lengel on Tickle the Wire, Camp’s attorney, William Taylor of Washington, wrote that Camp, a Ronald Reagan appointee, has been the victim of depression, brain damage from a bicycle accident and personal tragedy that may have contributed to him getting busted for buying cocaine for a stripper with whom he was having an affair.

“They do not excuse his conduct,” his attorney wrote. “They do help explain, however, how in May of 2010 a lonely man in the twilight of his life became entangled with a seductive prostitute more than willing to take advantage of his needs and of his misguided impulse to be her friend and protector.”

Arrested last fall on federal gun and drug charges, Camp pleaded guilty in November to conversion of government property and possession of a controlled substances, as Main Justice reported.

The memo filed by Camp’s lawyer in anticipation of sentencing on March 11 argues in effect that Camp has already been punished enough, by losing his post and profession, by humiliating himself and by the knowledge of the pain he has caused those close to him.

Camp has suffered from prostate cancer; his mother has dementia, and his sister is gravely ill with cancer, the lawyer said, urging that his client be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service rather than languish in prison.

David Nahmias (Gov)

Former Justice Department prosecutor and U.S. Attorney David Nahmias won a runoff election on Tuesday to retain his seat on the Georgia Supreme Court.

Nahmias joined the DOJ Criminal Division in 2001, later becoming the Deputy Assistant Attorney General. He served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia from 2004 until Aug. 30, 2009, when he joined the Georgia high court.

Because Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) appointed Nahmias last year, the former prosecutor had to be elected this year to keep his seat. Nahmias ran against Matt Wilson and Tammy Lynn Adkins, with neither getting the 50 percent plus one vote necessary to win outright.

So Nahmias and Adkins faced each other in Tuesday’s runoff, with Nahmias winning 67 percent of the vote and a six-year term, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

The manufacturer of Botox agreed to plead guilty in a False Claims Act case, in which the pharmaceutical company, Allergan Inc., was accused of unlawfully promoting the anti-wrinkle drug, the head of the Justice Department Civil Division announced Wednesday.

Allergan will pay $600 million in fines and forfeiture as part of the plea agreement, with $37.8 million going to the five whistleblowers in the case.

Assistant Attorney General Tony West of the Civil Division said Allergan illegally marketed Botox for applications that were not endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration, including treatments for headaches, pain, juvenile cerebral palsy and spasticity. He said the company also gave kickbacks to doctors to encourage them to use the drug for off-label purposes, in addition to showing them how to miscode Botox for billing claims.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates looks on as Assistant Attorney General Tony West announces the Allergan Inc. settlement. (photo by Andrew Ramonas / Main Justice)

West said the actions of Allergan aren’t “victimless crimes.”

“When our public health care programs are burdened with fraudulent charges, it drives the cost of health care up for all of us – consumers  pay more in premiums; companies pay more to cover their employees,” West said at a news conference at DOJ headquarters. “And when a pharmaceutical manufacturer violates the integrity of the drug- approval process established by Congress and the FDA by paying kickbacks to encourage the off-label use of an unapproved drug, that not only undermines the judgments of health care professionals, but also threatens to put patients’ health and safety at risk.”

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates of the Northern District of Georgia, whose office assisted with the case, said the Justice Department is committed to ensuring that prescription drugs are safe and federal health care funds aren’t wasted.

“With cases like this one, we hope to put an end to the practice known in the pharmaceutical industry as off-label marketing,” Yates said at the news conference.

Attorney General Eric Holder and other top public officials were on hand Friday to see the ceremonial investiture of Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Sally Yates.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates raises her hand to take the oath of office as her husband, Comer, and children, Quill and Kelley, look on. (DOJ)

Holder said Yates, who was officially sworn in March after the Senate confirmed her, “has the opportunity of a lifetime to deliver justice and improve the quality of life” of her district, according to the Associated Press. The Attorney General has now attended nine U.S. Attorney investitures.

Also in attendance were Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) — who initially tried to prevent her nomination, but withdrew his objections after queries from The Wall Street Journal — and her predecessor as U.S. Attorney, David E. Nahmias.

Nahmias, who stepped down last August, said Yates is “the steel magnolia of federal prosecutors,” according to the AP. She has served in the Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney’s office for more than two decades.

Yates told those gathered that she planned to tackle high recidivism rates and combat juvenile crime in Northern Georgia, the news wire said.

Attorney General Eric Holder and acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler are slated to attend the swearing-in ceremony Friday for the Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney.

Sally Yates (DOJ)

Northern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Sally Yates was officially sworn in March after the Senate confirmed her. But U.S. Attorneys often have a ceremonial investiture later on, with local, state and federal leaders in attendance.

Holder has attended eight U.S. Attorney investitures so far. He was at the swearing-in ceremonies for Barbara McQuade in the Eastern District of Michigan; Carmen Ortiz in Massachusetts; Paul Fishman in New Jersey; Timothy Heaphy in the Western District of Virginia; Neil MacBride in the Eastern District of Virginia; Preet Bharara in the Southern District of New York; B. Todd Jones in Minnesota and Joyce Vance in the Northern District of Alabama.

The swearing-in ceremony for Yates would be the second U.S. Attorney investiture for Grindler. He attended the investiture for D.C. U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen last month.

The Attorney General was supposed to attend the Machen investiture.  But Holder was summoned to the White House for a meeting.

Read our article here about the prestige the Attorney General can bring to U.S. Attorneys by attending their swearing-in ceremonies.

Sally Yates (DOJ)

Although Sally Quillian Yates has handled cases on numerous topics, public corruption are still her first love, the new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia told The Gainsville Times in a profile published Sunday.

“I’m a firm believer that how we go about doing our job here and how we represent the people in an honorable way is much more important than what the ultimate resolution of the case is,” Yates said, adding, that public corruption cases hold a “special place in my heart.”

Yates has served in the Atlanta-based Northern District office since 1989. She was confirmed as the new U.S. Attorney in March. During her tenure with the office she has handled the corruption trial of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell and the case against Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph.

“I think it oftentimes falls to the U.S. Attorney’s office and the feds to be the ones looking out for cases on the corruption front, and to do it in a vigorous way that inspires confidence” she said.

Yates believes her first trial may have been her best. The case, which took place in the late 1980s, involved a disputed title to six acres of land between the county’s first landowning black family and a developer.  Yates ultimately won the case.

“That is the most meaningful case I could ever have,” she told the newspaper. “It gave me a taste for the value of being on the right side of truth and justice, of believing in your cause. Once you’ve tasted that, it’s hard to go back to representing any old client.”

Soon after that case, Yates joined the U.S. Attorney’s office she now heads. During her time in the office, she has served as acting U.S. Attorney, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, chief of the fraud and public corruption section and First Assistant U.S. Attorney.

“I’ve been very fortunate here to have been able to handle a wide variety of cases,” Yates told the newspaper, adding that she stayed in the office “longer than I ever anticipated … because of the satisfaction that comes from being on the side of justice.”

Among the challenges her office faces are drug trafficking cases, which have become a priority since Atlanta became a hub for the Mexican drug cartels, according to Yates. Gangs are also a priority.

Yates also has made sex trafficking, child exploitation, weapons cases and other violent crimes high priorities. But because of the size of the office — 89 prosecutors representing an area with about 6.5 million people — prosecutors need to be selective about cases, she said.

“We really have to pick and choose the cases we’re prosecuting to try to have the greatest impact on the district, both in terms of getting offenders off the streets and sending a deterrence message to stem the tide,” Yates aid.

Kent Alexander, who served as the district’s U.S. Attorney in the 1990s and worked with Yates for several years, said she is up to the task.

“She is absolutely a top-notch prosecutor and I don’t think President Obama could have made a better decision,” he told the newspaper, adding, “She’s been in the courtroom, she’s managed, and she’s led, and most importantly, she has excellent judgment. Bottom line, she’s a star.”

The Senate confirmed two U.S. Attorneys by unanimous consent Wednesday evening.

They are:

William J. Hochul Jr. (Getty Images)

-William J. Hochul Jr. (Western District of New York): The almost 20-year veteran of the Western District office will succeed Terrance P. Flynn, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in January 2009. Hochul was nominated on Dec. 24. Read more about him here.

Sally Yates (DOJ)

-Sally Q. Yates (Northern District of Georgia): The current acting U.S. Attorney, who has worked in the Northern District since 1989, will succeed David E. Nahmias, who stepped down as the last Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorney in August. Yates was tapped on Dec. 24. Georgia Rep. John Lewis (D) initially tried to prevent her nomination, but withdrew his objections after queries from The Wall Street Journal about the matter. Read more about Yates here.

The Senate has now confirmed 36 U.S. Attorneys.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved two U.S. Attorney nominees Thursday by voice vote.

The nominees are:

William J. Hochul Jr. (Getty Images)

-William J. Hochul Jr. (Western District of New York): The almost 20 year veteran of the Western District office would succeed Terrance P. Flynn, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in January 2009. Hochul was nominated on Dec. 24. Read more about him here.

Sally Yates (DOJ)

-Sally Yates (Northern District of Georgia): The current acting U.S. Attorney, who has worked in the Northern District since 1989, would succeed David E. Nahmias, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in August. Yates was tapped on Dec. 24. Read more about her here.

The panel has now approved 36 U.S. Attorney nominees, 34 of whom have won Senate confirmation. The committee has yet to consider another 14 would-be U.S. Attorneys.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote on two U.S. Attorney nominees Thursday.

The nominees are:

William J. Hochul Jr. (Getty Images)

-William J. Hochul Jr. (Western District of New York): The almost 20 year veteran of the Western District office would succeed Terrance P. Flynn, who resigned as U.S. Attorney in January 2009. Hochul was nominated on Dec. 24. Read more about him here.

Sally Yates (DOJ)

-Sally Yates (Northern District of Georgia): The current acting U.S. Attorney, who has worked in the Northern District since 1989, would succeed David E. Nahmias, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney in August. Yates was tapped on Dec. 24. Read more about her here.

The panel has approved 34 U.S. Attorney nominees, all of whom have already won Senate confirmation. The committee has yet to schedule votes for another 10 would-be U.S. Attorneys.

The committee will also consider tomorrow Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel nominee Dawn Johnsen, who has been on the panel’s agenda since Jan. 28.

Her nomination was held over the first time at the request of panel Republicans. The panel was then forced to hold her over two more times because the committee lost its quorum and its ability to conduct business. Committee Republicans have voiced concerns about Johnsen’s vocal opposition to the Bush administration’s national security policies and her past work for an abortion rights group.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has released questionnaires for an additional five U.S. Attorney nominees. Information from their Office of Government Ethics disclosures will be added as it becomes available.

• Sally Quillian Yates, Northern District of Georgia
• Anne M. Tompkins, Western District of North Carolina
• William J. Hochul, Jr., Western District of New York
• Andre Birotte Jr., Central District of California
• William N. Nettles, District of South Carolina