A former U.S. Attorney and current Assistant U.S. Attorney are among 61 people who have applied for the three open seats on the Iowa Supreme Court.

Matt Dummermuth (gov)

Matt Dummermuth took office as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa in January 2007, at the age of 33, under a controversial provision of the Patriot Act — since rescinded — that effectively allowed the White House to install a U.S. Attorney without going through the Senate confirmation process. Then-President George W. Bush sent Dummermuth’s nomination to the Senate in December 2007, but he didn’t answer questions to the satisfaction of Judiciary Committee Democrats and failed to win confirmation.

In November 2010, Dummermuth resigned his position just before current U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose took over. A statement said that Dummermuth planned to spend time with his family and help on his parents’ farm before taking on his next professional challenge.

Lawrence Donald Kudej is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Cedar Rapids. He has worked as the chief of the civil division in the district.

On Jan. 24, the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission will begin meeting to interview the applicants. The interviews are open to the public and are expected to last several days, according to the state Supreme Court. The committee will forward nine names to Gov. Chet Culver (D), who will have 30 days to appoint three justices.

Stephanie Rose

Stephanie Rose who was confirmed by the Senate on Saturday as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, was sworn in Tuesday. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. But Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

Meanwhile, the outgoing U.S. Attorney, Matt Dummermuth, resigned his position just before Rose took over, according to the Sioux City Journal. A statement said that Dummermuth plans to spend time with his family and help on his parents’ farm before taking on his next professional challenge, according to the Journal.

Stephanie Woodrow contributed to this article.

The Senate confirmed three Justice Department officials by unanimous consent Saturday night.

They are:

Kenyen Brown (Main Justice file photo)

-Kenyen Brown (Southern District of Alabama): The House Ethics Committee staffer and former Southern District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Aug. 6. Brown would succeed Deborah Rhodes, who resigned April 17. Read more about the nominee here.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Sept. 25. She would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines lawyer was nominated Sept. 25. He would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We previously reported that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction. Read more about Klinefeldt here.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa offered his resignation to President Barack Obama, The Associated Press reported today.

Matthew Whitaker (DOJ)

Matthew Whitaker, a Bush holdover, said he will step down when his successor takes office. Nick Klinefeldt, Obama’s nominee to replace Whitaker, was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Whitaker has been the top federal prosecutor in the Southern District since 2004.

The U.S. Attorney, like many Bush holdovers still in office, appears to be waiting until the last minute to step down. His Bush counterpart in the Northern District of Iowa,  Matt Dummermuth, still hasn’t publicly announced his plans to resign even though Obama nominee Stephanie Rose is waiting in the wings.

A child pornography investigation called Operation Wirebreaker and the conviction of 30 people in an immigration and identity theft case were among the most significant prosecutions handled by his office during his tenure, Whitaker told The AP.

Whitaker told the news wire he plans to practice law in Des Moines after leaving office.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved three U.S. Attorney nominees by unanimous consent at its business meeting this morning.

They are:

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines lawyer was nominated Sept. 25. He would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We previously reported that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction. Read more about Klinefeldt here.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Sept. 25. She would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

Kenyen Brown (Main Justice file photo)

-Kenyen Brown (Southern District of Alabama): The House Ethics Committee staffer and former Southern District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated Aug. 6. Brown would succeed Deborah Rhodes, who resigned April 17. Read more about the nominee here.

The panel has now approved 24 U.S. Attorneys, including the 18 U.S. Attorneys who have been confirmed by the Senate. There are another five U.S. Attorney nominees who have not been considered by the committee yet. There are 93 U.S. Attorney positions nationwide.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the Iowa U.S. Attorney nominees Thursday, the panel announced today.

They are:

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines lawyer would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We previously reported that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction. Read more about Klinefeldt here.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. Read more about Rose here.

The panel is also slated to consider Southern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney nominee Kenyen Brown at the meeting Thursday.

Another six U.S. Attorney candidates have been nominated so far, but they haven’t come before the committee yet.

Stephanie Rose

Stephanie Rose (University of Iowa, University of Iowa College of Law) is nominated to replace  Matt Dummermuth as  the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa.

Her vitals:

• Born in Topeka, Kan., in 1972.
• Has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Iowa since May 1997. She has served as a student law clerk, special Assistant U.S. Attorney and currently is the district’s deputy criminal chief.
• Graded standardized English essay tests for schools while working at National Computer Systems Pearson from March 1997 to May 1997.
• Clerked for Bradley & Riley, P.C. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during the summer of 1997.
• Worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communications from February 1996 to May 1996.
• Was a staff writer for the Globe Gazette in Mason City, Iowa, from 1989 to 1991 and freelanced for the Globe Gazette and Daily Iowan in Iowa City, Iowa.
• Has tried 33 cases to verdict, 20 of which she was sole counsel on, eight of which she was chief counsel on and five of which she was associate counsel on.

Click here for her full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On her Senate Judiciary financial disclosure Rose reports assets of $306,100 and liabilities of $178,000, for a net worth of $128,100. Her liabilities include secured notes payable to banks, a mortgage and student loans.

Rose on her Office of Government Ethics disclosure reports student loans debt of $15,001- $50,000, but does not report any other liabilities. Under her assets she does not report her real estate.

President Obama nominated U.S. Attorneys for Missouri, Montana and Iowa today.

They are:

Richard Callahan (Gov)

-Richard G. Callahan (Eastern District of Missouri): The Cole County, Mo., Circuit Court judge would replace Michael Reap, who has been acting U.S. Attorney since Catherine Hanaway resigned in April to join former Attorney General John Ashcroft’s law firm.

-Michael W. Cotter (Montana): The Helena, Mont. lawyer would succeed controversial Bush holdover Bill Mercer, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001. Mercer was criticized for being the Justice Department’s Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General in Washington, D.C., for almost two years, while simultaneously serving as Montana U.S. Attorney. He has also come under fire for his role in the politicized firings of U.S. Attorneys in 2006.

Nick Klinefeldt (Ahlers & Cooney)

-Nick Klinefeldt (Southern District of Iowa): The Des Moines, Iowa lawyer would replace Matthew G. Whitaker, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2004. We reported earlier this month that the lawyer has been able to rise above the past of his father, Michael Arthur Klinefeldt, who is serving a 10-year sentence on a methamphetamine conviction.

Stephanie Rose

-Stephanie Rose (Northern District of Iowa): The Northern District of Iowa Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Matt Dummermuth, a Bush U.S. Attorney who never won Senate confirmation. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa last year. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said in May that Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers.

Read more about the nominees here.

Obama has now made a total of 27 U.S. Attorney nominations. The full Senate has considered 11 of those nominees and they were all confirmed by unanimous consent.

Stephanie Rose — Sen. Tom Harkin’s (D-Iowa) choice for Iowa Northern District U.S. Attorney — is proceeding on course through the vetting process despite continued protests from immigrant rights groups, a person with knowledge of the nomination process told Main Justice today.

Stephanie Rose

The deputy chief of the office’s criminal division was recommended to President Obama in March. Immigration lawyers and immigrant rights advocates have since questioned Rose’s role in a controversial round-up of 300 undocumented immigrants working at a meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa last year.

American Immigration Lawyers Association Vice President David Leopold has said the prosecutions from the raid weren’t fair because there weren’t enough lawyers to represent the workers. There is also a petition with more than 300 signatures that asks the Justice Department to investigate the Postville raid and questions Rose’s role in the prosecutions.

Harkin in May said Rose didn’t take part in the decision to prosecute the immigrant workers. The raid was conducted during the term of U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth, a Bush appointee who never won Senate confirmation. Read our previous post here.

The persona familiar with the nomination told Main Justice that the questions surrounding Rose’s role in the raids aren’t an issue for the administration. The person said Rose hasn’t been formally nominated yet, because the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has all U.S. Attorney candidates on the back burner.

Obama also hasn’t nominated a U.S. Attorney for the Iowa Southern District. Harkin recommended Nick Klinefeldt for the post in March.

The Senate confirmed by voice vote last night former Clinton U.S. Attorney Stephen Rapp to be the State Department’s ambassador at large for war crimes issues.

Stephen Rapp (UCLA)

Rapp, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa from 1993 to 2001, has led the prosecution of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes since becoming a prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2007. He previously was the senior trial attorney and chief of prosecutions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 2001 to 2007.

He also spent part of his career as the staff director on the Senate Judiciary juvenile delinquency subcommittee and as an elected member of the Iowa legislature prior to becoming the Northern District’s top federal prosecutor.

The ambassador at large for war crimes issues advises the Secretary of State on U.S. policy for areas  of conflict where atrocities occur.