Gray Tollison (Tollison Law Firm)
A state senator from Oxford, Miss., is among those being considered for U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Mississippi, The Daily Journal reported.
U.S. Rep. Travis Childers (D-Miss.) confirmed to the paper that state Sen. Gray Tollison is in the running for the post. Tollison, a member of the state Senate since 1996, is chairman of the committee that considers changes to the state’s criminal laws. He is also the son of Oxford attorney and well known local Democrat Grady F. Tollison, according to the paper.
The Obama administration also considered Southern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams and Oxford, Miss., criminal defense attorney Christi McCoy for the post. Northern District of Mississippi Assistant U.S. Attorney Curtis Ivy has also been mentioned as a candidate for the position.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) is taking the lead on selecting U.S. attorney candidates for Mississippi’s congressional Democrats. Thompson formally recommended McCoy for the post last summer. But McCoy was dogged by controversy because of her affiliation with a local private investigator who was under investigation for his billing practices. The Northern District U.S. Attorney’s office, which was handling the case, dropped its probe earlier this year, clearing McCoy.
Thompson told Main Justice in March that the White House was considering both Adams and McCoy, though he was not certain if Ivy was still in the running.
The Oxford-based U.S. Attorney’s office is currently headed by acting U.S. Attorney Bill Martin, who took over the position when Bush-era U.S. Attorney Jim M. Greenlee stepped down in January.
In the Southern District, Natchez attorney Deborah McDonald has been mentioned as a candidate for U.S. Attorney, the Journal said. Other candidates reportedly include Kathy Nester, a Jackson attorney, and Dorsey Carson of Jackson. Mississippi bloggers have also mentioned Constance Slaughter-Harvey of Forest
