A federal prosecutor who has worked in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., will join the Baltimore City state’s attorney office, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Gregg Bernstein, the incoming Baltimore City state’s attorney, named George Hazel to his administration, but declined to say what position he will assume. However, it is possible he might not be a prosecutor in the office.

Hazel, who Bernstein said is not a member of Maryland’s bar, would be required to join if he was going to  practice law in state court. The next opportunity for him to take the bar exam is in February.

Bernstein told the Sun that Hazel’s inability to practice law in his office until than will not affect his ability to do his new job. “I do not believe it will have any impact on the role he will play within the state’s attorney’s office as part of my team, pending him sitting for and becoming a member of the Maryland bar,” he said.

Hazel has focused on prosecuting violent felony cases, with his most prominent case being the  prosecution of Johnny Butler, who was sentenced to life in prison for a drug-related murder, according to the Sun.

In a statement, Hazel said, “I have spent the majority of my career developing strategies and trying cases in order to get violent offenders off our streets, and I look forward to applying my skills and experience as part of Mr. Bernstein’s leadership team.”

U.S. Attorney Ron Machen with Heather D. Graham-Oliver, recipient of the U.S. Attorney's Award for Exceptional Performance as an AUSA (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia held an awards ceremony on Friday in the Great Hall of the Justice Department.

“There are few jobs more difficult than serving this office. Like an offensive tackle in football, our names aren’t going to be called out publicly unless something goes horribly wrong,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen. “I want to say thank you and I want to tell you I appreciate everything you’ve done.”

The program is embedded and a list of the award recipients is reprinted below.

USADC

Administrative Division 2010 Award Recipients
Stephanie L. Bragg Lee
Nikiya S. Burnette
Joseph R. Calvarese
Karen T. Kress
Ann B. Lawrence
Annette D. Ortega
Florence L. Pensmith
Donna M. Proctor
Kimberly L. Rich
Michael Vasquez
Cereese A. Wills

Appellate Division 2010 Award Recipients

Michael T. Ambrosino*
Victoria L. Ashton
Timothy W. Barry
Lauren R. Bates
Leslie Ann Gerardo
Jonathan P. Hooks*
James R. Mazzitelli**
Timothy D. Parsons
James M. Perez
Stratton C. Strand
Reagan M. Taylor*
Marc D. Thompson

Civil Division 2010 Award Recipients

Marian L. Borum
Marina U. Braswell
Alan R. Burch
Patricia A. Gilbert
Brenda 1. Jones
Theresa D. Jones
Pamela F. Lawson
Jane M. Lyons
Robin M. Meriweather
William M. Nebeker
Timothy A. Rice
Reginald D. Rowan
Beverly M. Russell
Darrell C. Valdez

Criminal Division 2010 Award Recipients

Donice S. Adams
Jacqueline K. Akyea
Candace L. Battle
Keith A. Becker
Crystal F. Boodoo
Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez*
Matthew P. Cohen
Jeannette T. Fennell
Matthew M. Graves*
Gilberto Guerrero
Tasha L. Harris
G. Michael Harvey
Diane K. Hayes
Bruce R. Hegyi
David B. Kent*
Kenneth C. Kohl
ArvindK. Lal
Rachel C. Lieber
Emily A. Miller
Valencia E. Philyaw
CassidyK. Pinegar*
John C. Russell
BryanG. Seeley*
Sheree S. Smith

Front Office Staff 2010 Award Recipients
Bridget N. Harris
Katherine L. Kelly-Howard
Shawn M. Maguire
Shelia M. Miller
Abby J. Stavitsky
Monica M. Veney

Superior Court Division Felony Major Crimes Section 2010 Award Recipients
Joseph W. Anderson
Christopher1.Brophy
Kalisha S. Clark
Nicholas P. Coleman
Joseph P. Cooney
Darline D. Douglas
Lawrence W. Grasso
Anthony O. Griffith
Stacey S. McMillan
Shavaka N. Melvin
B. Michael Ortwein
Kendrell Smith
\Vanda V. Trice
Cynthia D. Walicki -Chan
Michael A. Worden

Superior Court Division General Crimes 2010 Award Recipients

Lavenia L. Fletcher
D’Yvonne S. Key
Nicole R. McGhee
Rochelle L. Mills
Tonya A. Queen
Katelyn M. Rowe
Lesley K. Slade

Superior Court Division Homicide Section 2010 Award Recipients

Philip S. Aronson
Kelly M. Blakeney
Alessio D. Evangelista
Todd W. Gee
Jennifer A. Kerkhoff
Sharad S. Khandelwal
Michael C. Liebman
Alesha M. Matthews Yette
Gary M. Wheeler

Superior Court Division Litigation Services Unit 2010 Award Recipient

Tierra L. Nanches

Superior Court Division Sex Offense and Domestic Violence 2010 Award Recipients

Sharon K. Donovan
Lynita N. Greene
Eugena Kay Johnson
David A. Last
Sharon I Marcus-Kurn
Cynthia D. Muhammad
Mark J. O’Brien

Special Proceedings Division 2010 Award Recipients

Sherri L. Berthrong
Barbara A. Burnett
Joan Draper
Christopher King
Michael A. Richards
James S. Sweeney

Victim / Witness Assistance Unit 2010 Award Recipients

Jennifer B. Allen
Yvonne M. Bryant
Lorraine A. Chase
Jennifer L. Clark
David A. Foster
Karen M. Giannakoulias
Melissa S. Milam
Christine O. Principe
Marcia L. Rinker
Maria O. Shumar
La June M. Thames
Meshall D. Thomas
Veronica A. Vaughan

United States Attorney’s STAR Award for Distinguished Service 2010 Award Recipient
Glenn L. Kirsclmer

United States Attorney’s Award for Exceptional Performance as an AUSA 2010 Award Recipient
Heather D. Graham-Oliver

United States Attorney’s Award for Exceptional Performance as a Support Staff Member 2010 Award Recipient
Anne P. Riopelle

United States Attorney’s Award for Creativity and Innovation 2010 Award Recipient
Nancy T. Gonzalez

United States Attorney’s Team Award for Creativity and Innovation 2010 Award Recipients
Katina A. Adams
Debra A. Cannon
LaVerne Forrest
Michael A. Hailey
Shawn K. Slade
Tanya A. Via

United States Attorney’s Award for Meritorious Service 2010 Award Recipients
Robin C. Ashton
Nathan C. Hawkins
Channing D. Phillips

United States Attorney’s Team Award 2010 Award Recipients
22nd Street Investigation
Laura R. Bach
John G. Giovannelli
Debra M. Joyner
Wanda M. Queen
Fern E. Rhedrick
Sean P. Tonolli

D.C. U.S. Attorney Ron Machen has been on the job for only a little more than a month and he has already found himself in the middle of a brewing storm.

Ron Machen (DOJ)

Machen has been pushed into the spotlight over his office’s handling of a man who allegedly participated in a drive-by shooting Tuesday night that led to four deaths and five wounded people. The drive-by was one of the worst shootings in D.C. history.

A few days before to the shootings, D.C. police had asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to obtain a warrant for the arrest of the man, Orlando Carter, in connection with an earlier homicide. But prosecutors decided not to act on the request because they said they determined there wasn’t enough evidence at the time for a warrant. The U.S. Attorneys office for the District of Columbia prosecutes cases on behalf of the D.C. Police, as well as federal law enforcement cases.

“We can only approve arrest warrants when sufficient probable cause has been established for a particular offense after a thorough review of the evidence,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement released Thursday to the D.C. Examiner.

D.C. homicide detectives have expressed frustration with the way the U.S. Attorney’s office has handled similar incidents, according to The Washington Post. Detectives said the prosecutors’ caution was unnecessary.

“I think they expected the United States Attorney’s Office . . . to do their important legal review, but also to really take at face value what the police department has said about evidence,” D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said in an interview with WTOP radio.

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said on NewsChannel 8 that she understood why the D.C. detectives spoke out and that it is common for there to be differences of opinion between prosecutors and police working on cases.

According to the D.C. Examiner, Lanier requested an emergency meeting with Machen last week and specifically asked for a warrant to arrest Carter. Prosecutors denied the request based on a lack of evidence

Norman Williams, the father of one of the murdered men, told WTOP that he believes racism played a role in the U.S. Attorney’s office decision not to request a warrant for Carter before he participated in the shooting.

Williams told the news radio station about a conversation he said he had with prosecutors at the courthouse.

“I said, ‘Are you telling me an African-American witness is less credited than a white witness?’” Williams said. “If a Caucasian lady said, ‘Hey, that guy stole my bike,’ you’re going to lock him up, not ask any questions. If a black lady says, ‘That guy stole my bike,’ you’re going to ask her a bunch of questions — ‘Where’s your receipt? Is the bike registered? Where did you get the bike? How long have you had the bike?’

“It’s black-on-black crime,” Williams said. “They’re not interested in protecting the community. If a white kid gets shot, you’d better believe it buddy, they’re going to lock the city down.”

Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips told WTOP the he “strongly and emphatically denies race played a factor in how this case was handled, nor does it ever in any of our decisions.”

“Our deepest sympathies go out to all of the victims and their family members of this terrible tragedy, but they can rest assured that our decisions are color-blind, and based on only the facts and the law,” Phillips told the news radio station.

Lanny Breuer (doj)

A mistrial has been declared in the fraud and bribery trial of two American Samoa officials, according to The Blog of Legal Times.

Lt. Gov. Aitofele Sunia and American Samoa lawmaker Tini Lam Yuen, a senator in the territorial legislature, were charged with fraud and bribery.

The trial, before Judge Reggie Walton in federal court in the District of Columbia, began Jan. 12 and the jury had been deliberating for more than two weeks when it announced on Tuesday that it was deadlocked. Eleven of the jurors said they favored acquittal.

Federal prosecutors in the 2007 indictment of Sunia and Yuen allege that they used their political positions and relationships to secure contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars  for companies under their control, BLT reported. Under the contracts, the companies supplied classroom and library furniture to the American Samoa Department of Education.

Stephen Anthony (Covington & Burling LLP)

Stephen Anthony, a partner at Covington & Burling and a lead attorney for Sunia, told BLT the jury deliberated “carefully and thoroughly” in the case. He added, “It was clear the jury paid close attention to the evidence.” Sunia also was represented by Covington & Burling partner Emily Henn. Yuen was represented by Michele Peterson, an assistant federal public defender in Washington, D.C.

Emily Henn (Covington & Burling LLP)

When the indictment was issued, Lanny Breuer, then a partner at Covington & Burling,  was lead counsel for Sunia and appeared in court several times. He withdrew from the case in February 2009, a month after being nominated to head the criminal division at the Justice Department. He recused himself from participating in the prosecution of the case.

The case was prosecuted by DOJ trial attorneys Matthew Stennes and Kathryn Albrecht of the Public Integrity Section. They did not comment on whether DOJ plans to prosecute Sunia and Yuen again, BLT reports.

Richard Shelby (Getty Images)

Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama has withdrawn most of his “holds” on presidential nominees, including President Obama’s picks for key Justice Department posts.

Shelby’s office announced late last night that the senator would drop his “blanket hold” on more than 70 nominees pending on the Senate Executive Calendar. A hold is when a senator — often anonymously — lets it be known he would oppose a unanimous consent request to bring a particular bill or nomination to the Senate floor. Without unanimous consent, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would have to make a debatable motion to bring the matter to the floor, thus raising the possibility of a filibuster. Senate leaders usually do not even begin that process, recognizing it would be very time-consuming.

The DOJ nominees who were caught up in Shelby’s hold were:

• Mary L. Smith, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division. She was reported out of committee last Thursday.

• Christopher Schroeder, to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. He also was reported out of committee on Thursday.

• John Laub, to be director of the National Institute of Justice. He was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Susan Carbon, to be director of the Office on Violence Against Women. She was reported out of committee on Dec. 3.

• Richard Hartunian, to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Andre Birotte Jr., to be U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

• Ron Machen, to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He was reported out of committee on Jan. 28.

The Alabama senator had held up the more than 70 nominees since Thursday over concerns he has about a tanker contract that could bring 1,500 jobs to Mobile, Ala., and over funds he is requesting to build an FBI counterterrorism center in his state. Northrop Grumman is vying to win the tanker contract, and if successful, would assemble the planes in Mobile.

A spokesman for Shelby said the Republican had “accomplished” his goal by employing the “blanket hold,” according to Politico.

“The purpose of placing numerous holds was to get the White House’s attention on two issues that are critical to our national security – the Air Force’s aerial refueling tanker acquisition and the FBI’s Terrorist Device Analytical Center (TEDAC). With that accomplished, Sen. Shelby has decided to release his holds on all but a few nominees directly related to the Air Force tanker acquisition until the new Request for Proposal is issued,”  Shelby aide Jonathan Graffeo said in a statement, according to Politico.

Shelby still has holds on the nominations of Terry Yonkers, assistant secretary of the Air Force; Frank Kendall, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics; and Erin Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force, Politico said.

Democrats and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had sharply criticized Shelby for the rare move to hold up all of Obama’s nominees who were waiting for votes in the full Senate. Last week, Gibbs said there likely wouldn’t be a “greater example of silliness throughout the entire year of 2010.”

The District of Columbia City Council yesterday defeated a proposal by Democratic Councilman Tommy Wells to transfer the powers of the U.S. attorney’s office to an elected district attorney, the Washington Post reported.

The action came as the council was debating whether the District should have an elected attorney general, instead of one appointed by the mayor, as is now the case.

The council approved that proposal, 12-1, but it still must win the approval of Mayor Adrian Fenty. And, Congress would have to amend the District’s home rule charter.

During consideration of the attorney general proposal, Wells offered an amendment, defeated 3-10, to leave the attorney general’s status untouched, but rather transfer authority for prosecuting local crimes to a local district attorney.

The District’s non-voting delegate in Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has introduced legislation to establish a local district attorney in each of the last four Congresses, but has not been successful.

The effort follows a 2002 referendum in which District residents voted to establish a locally elected D.A. Currently, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia prosecutes local crimes – from burglaries to murders. .

The Senate Judiciary Committee has added six nominations to the agenda for its Thursday business meeting — three U.S. Attorney nominees and three controversial figures nominated to be Assistant Attorneys General.

Andre Birotte Jr. (gov)

Ron Machen (Wilmer Hale)

The three U.S. Attorney nominees are Andre Birotte Jr. (Central District of California), Richard Hartunian (Northern District of New York) and Ronald Machen (District of Columbia). All three were nominated Dec. 23. Read more about Birotte here. Read more about Hartunian here. Read more about Machen here.

The agenda also includes three high ranking Justice Department appointees whose nominations were not acted on by the Senate last year and whose nominations were returned to the White House at the end of last year’s session — Mary L. Smith to head the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Christopher Schroeder to head the Office of Legal Policy and Dawn Johnsen, to head the Office of Legal Counsel. President Obama re-nominated the three earlier this month.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Although the names of Smith, Schroeder and Johnsen were placed on this week’s agenda, committee Republicans have the right to delay action for a week.

The panel’s top Republican, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, has formally asked committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to schedule another hearing on the Johnsen nomination. Leahy sent a letter to Sessions regarding the Republican’s request, a Senate aide told Main Justice. It is unclear what the letter said.

Sessions also said Republicans would likely support additional hearings on Smith and Schroeder as well, although he has not formally made such a request.

Andrew Ramonas contributed to this report.

This post has been updated from an earlier version.

Kenneth L. Wainstein (O'Melveny & Myers LLP)

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has made some pretty poor decisions in the past month, but selecting Ken Wainstein as his attorney is not one of them, according to Marisa M. Kashino at Washingtonian magazine.

Among the list of items that “Arenas isn’t scoring many points for good judgment” for are bringing handguns into the Wizards locker room and inappropriate Tweets, according to Kashino. Despite these less-than-stellar decisions, hiring Wainstein might help keep Arenas out of future trouble and help him avoid jail time. Wainstein spent 19 years at the Justice Department in a number of key roles, including U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 2004-2006.

Although the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Columbia charged Arenas with with one count of carrying a pistol without a license, the Wizards star struck a deal with the office that Wainstein once headed. Under the plea agreement, Arenas pleaded guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. However, the plea deal calls for a jail sentence of six to 24 months, with probation, a split sentence or incarceration possible, although the government has agreed to seek a sentence at the low end of that range. Sentencing is set for March 26.

Kashino praises Arenas’ decision to hire Wainstein, as he “certainly knows his way around the U.S. Attorney’s office.” In addition, Wainstein, who is now a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP, “has been building a practice as a leader in the emerging subject of national-security law,” according to Kashino.

While Wainstein has never represented an athlete before, according to Kashino, he appears to be handling his first athlete-client well.

Ron Machen, nominated by President Barack Obama last month to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, has never before held public office. But he assisted the Obama campaign in 2008 in choosing Obama’s running mate, according to a questionnaire released today by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Ron Machen (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr)

All U.S. Attorney nominees are required to submit extensive answers about their background as part of the Senate confirmation process.

Machen, in his 23-page response, said he was a volunteer on the Obama campaign and “assisted in vetting of potential vice presidential candidates.” Interestingly, Machen’s former — and potentially future — boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, also participated in behind-the-scenes work on Obama’s vice presidential selection, according to The Blog of Legal Times, which also reported on Machen’s questionnaire.

Machen, who was hired by then-U.S. Attorney Holder as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia office, served there from 1997-2001, working on public corruption and homicide cases, among other matters. After leaving the federal prosecutor’s office in 2001, Machen has been with the Washington, D.C., firm of WilmerHale, specializing largely in white collar cases. His clients have included the Boeing Co., which has been involved in lengthy litigation involving a Pentagon contract to build a new aerial tanker.

Asked in the Judiciary Committee questionnaire to cite his 10 most significant cases, Machen chose three homicide cases and two drug cases. But he also listed his involvement in the case of a former defense contractor who bribed former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). Both the contractor and Cunningham were eventually convicted and imprisoned.

Machen, who has an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a law degree from Harvard Law School, was listed in 2008 by the National Law Journal as one of the 50 most influential minority lawyers.

Gilbert Arenas gestures in the huddle with teammates before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 5 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Last week we asked the question, ” Can Ken Wainstein keep Gilbert Arenas under control?” Today, the answer appears to be, “Yes.”

The Washington Wizards guard has reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Columbia, which Wainstein once headed, The Washington Post reports.

The agreement will keep Arenas out of jail following a well publicized incident in which he brought weapons into the locker room of the professional basketball team. Arenas was charged with one county of carrying a gun without a license.

Wainstein is a partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and a former head of the National Security Division at DOJ.

After taking on Arenas as a client a couple of weeks ago, Wainstein had to conduct damage control, after a photo appeared of the guard pretending to shoot at his team mates with his fingers, and other incidetns.

Arenas this afternoon will plead guilty before D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin, who will decide on Arenas’s sentence, The Post reports.

The NBA has suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay until its own investigation is complete. He has four years left on his six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards, according to The Post.

UPDATE: Arenas had pleaded guilty to a felony charge of carrying a pistol without a license. Although the charge carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, the plea deal calls for a jail sentence of six to 24 months, with probation, a split sentence or incarceration permissible, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Arenas will be sentenced March 6 at 2:30 p.m., according to the release.