Posts Tagged ‘Idaho’
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead (R) was sworn in on Monday as Wyoming’s 32nd governor.

Mead served as the state’s U.S. Attorney from from 2001 to 2007. He already has named several of his former colleagues from the office to his administration.

At the swearing-in ceremony and at the inaugural ball that night were several former U.S. Attorneys, according to former Colorado U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who attend the events.

Among those in attendance were Bill Mercer of Montana, Johnny Sutton of the Western District of Texas, John Ratcliffe of the Eastern District of Texas, Tom Moss of Idaho and Susan Brooks of the Southern District of Indiana, according to Eid.

This story has been corrected from an earlier version.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The Senate confirmed four more of President Barack Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees by voice vote Tuesday morning.

They are:

Donald J. Cazayoux (Gov)

- Donald J. Cazayoux (Middle District of Louisiana): The former U.S. House member will replace George W. Bush holdover David R. Dugas, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about Cazayoux here.

- James A. Lewis (Central District of Illinois): The Central District of Illinois Assistant U.S. Attorney will succeed Rodger A. Heaton, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last August. Read more about Lewis here.

- Thomas Delahanty II (Maine): The Maine Superior Court justice will replace Paula Silsby, who has led the Portland, Maine-based U.S. Attorney’s office since 2001. Delahanty previously served as U.S. attorney from 1980 to 1981. Read more about him here.

- Wendy J. Olson (Idaho): The Senior Litigation Counsel has worked in the Boise, Idaho-based U.S. Attorney’s office since 1997. Olson previously served at Justice Department headquarters in the Civil Rights Division as a trial attorney from 1992 to 1996 and Deputy Director of Operations and Assistant to the Director on the National Church Arson Task Force from 1996 to 1997. She will succeed Thomas Moss, who has served as Idaho U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about her here.

Senate has now confirmed 55 of Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees.

The chamber has yet to consider another 15 U.S. Attorney nominees who are waiting for votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate also has yet to vote on two U.S. Attorney nominees who were approved by the panel Thursday.

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Branches of the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s office received in the mail Monday a suspicious white powder commonly associated with chalk, The Spokesman-Review reported Tuesday.

The nontoxic substance  of calcium carbonate was sent to the branches in Boise and Coeur d’Alene, in addition to other federal offices in Idaho, Washington and Utah. Thomas E. Moss has led the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2001.

Threatening letters accompanied the powder. But FBI special agent Frank Harrill declined to elaborate, telling the newspaper that the investigation is “very active.”

KREM 2 News in Spokane, Wash., reported that many of the envelopes were postmarked from the city. A bomb was found in March outside the Thomas S. Foley U.S. Courthouse in Spokane.

Harrill told The Spokesman-Review that there is no indication of a connection between Monday’s letters and the bomb incident, which is still under investigation.

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed by voice vote four more of President Barack Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees at its meeting Thursday.

They are:

Donald J. Cazayoux (Gov)

- Donald J. Cazayoux (Middle District of Louisiana): The former U.S. House member would replace George W. Bush holdover David R. Dugas, who has served as U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about Cazayoux here.

- James A. Lewis (Central District of Illinois): The Central District of Illinois Assistant U.S. Attorney would succeed Rodger A. Heaton, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney last August. The district’s current acting U.S. Attorney is Jeffrey B. Lang. Read more about Lewis here.

- Thomas Delahanty II (Maine): The Maine Superior Court justice would replace Paula Silsby, who has led the Portland, Maine-based U.S. Attorney’s office since 2001. Delahanty previously served as U.S. attorney from 1980 to 1981. Read more about him here.

- Wendy J. Olson (Idaho): The Senior Litigation Counsel has worked in the Boise, Idaho-based U.S. Attorney’s office since 1997. Olson previously served at Justice Department headquarters in the Civil Rights Division as a trial attorney from 1992 to 1996 and Deputy Director of Operations and Assistant to the Director on the National Church Arson Task Force from 1996 to 1997. She would succeed Thomas Moss, who has served as Idaho U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about her here.

The panel has now approved 55 of Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees, 51 of whom have won Senate confirmation. The committee has yet to schedule votes for another 17 would-be U.S. Attorneys.

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to vote on two more of President Barack Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees at its meeting next Thursday.

They are:

- Thomas Delahanty II (Maine): The Maine Superior Court justice would replace Paula Silsby, who has led the Portland, Maine-based U.S. Attorney’s office since 2001. Delahanty previously served as U.S. attorney from 1980 to 1981. Read more about him here.

- Wendy J. Olson (Idaho): The Senior Litigation Counsel has worked in the Boise, Idaho-based U.S. Attorney’s Office since 1997. Olson previously served at Justice Department headquarters in the Civil Rights Division as a trial attorney from 1992 to 1996 and Deputy Director of Operations and Assistant to the Director on the National Church Arson Task Force from 1996 to 1997. She would succeed Thomas Moss, who has served as Idaho U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about her here.

The committee has yet to schedule votes for another 18 would-be U.S. Attorneys. The panel has approved 51 of Obama’s U.S. Attorney nominees, all of whom have won Senate confirmation.

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Monday, April 26th, 2010

Nixon-era Idaho U.S. Attorney Sidney Smith died last Friday at the age of 95, the Associated Press reported. Smith was the state’s top federal prosecutor from 1971 to 1975.

Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Smith had his own private practice first in Idaho Falls and later in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Smith Deputy General Counsel for the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. After serving in the position for one year, he was appointed U.S. Attorney for Idaho.

After leaving the public sector, Smith was a candidate for Idaho Lieutenant Governor in 1965.

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Friday, March 12th, 2010

Wendy J. Olson (Drake University, Stanford Law School) is nominated to be the Idaho U.S. Attorney. She would replace Bush holdover Thomas E. Moss who became a U.S. Attorney in 2001.

Her vitals:

  • Born in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1964.
  • Attended but did not earn a degree from University of Southern California.
  • Has worked in the Idaho U.S. Attorney’s office since 1997. Was an Assistant U.S. Attorney from March 1997 to May 2006 and has served as Senior Litigation Counsel since May 2006.
  • Worked in the Civil Division at Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. from October 1992 to February 1997, first as a trial attorney then as Deputy Director of Operations for the National Church Arson Task Force.
  • Was an adjunct professor of legal writing at George Washington University Law School from January 1994 to February 1997.
  • Clerked for Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein in Seattle from August 1990 to August 1992.
  • Worked as a research assistant at Stanford Law School during the 1989 to 1990 school year.
  • Was a legal intern at the Student Press Law Center during the summer of 1989.
  • Worked as a legal intern at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP) during the summer of 1989.
  • Was a legal intern at the Media Access Project during the summer of 1988.
  • Interned at the Los Angeles Times sports department during the summer of 1987.
  • Has tried 33 cases to verdict, judgment or final decision in federal court. Served as co-counsel on 16 of those cases and sole counsel on the other 17. Tried an additional case through close of the defendant’s case. Also has tried approximately 10 to 15 one-day or less than one-day misdemeanor cases in Washington, D.C., Superior Court while on detail to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

Click here for her full Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.

UPDATE: On her Senate Judiciary financial disclosure Olson reported assets of $737,400, mostly from her personal residence, and liabilities of $467,600, mostly from a mortgage, for a net worth of $269,800.

On her Office of Government Ethics financial disclosure Olson did not report any real estate holdings or liabilities related to real estate.

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Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

President Barack Obama unveiled two nominees for U.S. Attorneys for Idaho and Maine, the White House announced Wednesday.

They are:

- Thomas Edward Delahanty (Maine): The Maine Superior Court Justice has held his current position since 1983. From 1990 to 1995 he served as the court’s Chief Justice. Before becoming a judge Delahanty from 1981 to1983 was a partner at Delahanty & Longley. He was the state’s U.S. attorney from 1980 to 1981.

- Wendy J. Olson (Idaho):  The Senior Litigation Counsel in the state’s U.S. Attorney’s office previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1997 to 2006. Olson worked at Justice Department headquarters in the civil rights division as a trial attorney from 1992 to 1996 and deputy director of operations and assistant to the director on the National Church Arson Task Force from 1996 to 1997.

Obama has now made 54 U.S. Attorney nominations. The Senate has confirmed 34 U.S. Attorneys thus far.

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Two Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Idaho are said to finalists for the state’s top federal prosecuting job, a person familiar with the situation told Main Justice recently. But Idaho’s only congressional Democrat, Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), told us he submitted only one name to the White House for U.S. Attorney.

Minnick spokesperson John Foster declined to comment. Idaho Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah Ferguson and Wendy Olson have been mentioned in Idaho as likely candidates, the person with knowledge of the selection process said.

Ferguson works on environmental cases in the office’s civil division. Olson is the senior litigation counsel in the criminal division. She was honored last month in Washington at Attorney General Awards Ceremony for her work on a triple homicide in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Read a list of the honorees here.