Deborah Gilg (DOJ)

In a question and answer with Lincoln Journal Star published Sunday, Nebraska U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg discussed the rise in civil forfeitures in the state and what that means for civil liberties. Formerly a lawyer in private practice in Omaha, Gilg was sworn in as Nebraska’s U.S. Attorney in October 2009. (Read more about her here.)

Q: Cash and vehicle forfeitures on I-80 are on the rise. Do you think that means more drug trafficking is going through Nebraska, or law enforcement is getting better at finding it?
Gilg: I-80 remains a significant traffic route for drug traffickers. Law enforcement continues to increase their ability to detect and effectively stop drug traffickers.

Q: What must the government do to prove its case and show a substantial connection between the property and the drug trade?
Gilg: The United States must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that there was a substantial connection between the currency and a drug trafficking offense. “We have adopted the common-sense view that bundling and concealment of large amounts of currency, combined with other suspicious circumstances, supports a connection between money and drug trafficking.” - U.S. v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency, 458 F.3d 822, 826 (8th Cir. 2006).

Q: In some cases that go to appeal, like Emiliano Gonzolez’s case in 2003, it appears even judges have disagreed about what’s enough. Is this still fairly new legal ground where precedent is being set? Is it in some ways a balancing act between interrupting the drug trade and protecting civil liberties?
Gilg: No. It is well-established law that an individual’s civil liberties are not trampled when there is probable cause for the traffic stop that results in the seizure.

For the full story, see here.

Deborah Gilg (Gilg, Kruger & Troia)

As four new Obama-appointed U.S. Attorneys took their oaths of office this week, their predecessors resigned. They are:

• Hawaii: Edward H. Kubo Jr. resigned yesterday. He had been the Hawaii’s U.S. Attorney since 2001. Kubo recently was one of six people who was nominated to fill a vacancy on the state First Circuit Court.  Florence Nakakuni was sworn in yesterday. She was confirmed Sept. 29.

• Nebraska: Joe W. Stecher resigned this morning. He has been the district’s U.S. Attorney since 2007. Stecher said, “I have a few options” both in the private and public sectors. Deborah Gilg was sworn in today. She was confirmed Sept. 29.

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  Daniel Bogden (Getty Images)

  Nevada: Gregory A. Brower resigned this morning. He had been the district’s U.S. Attorney since 2007. Brower has not announced official plans but has been mentioned as a possible Republican opponent for Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2010 or as a Nevada attorney general candidate. Daniel Bogden was sworn in 10 a.m. Pacific Time. He was confirmed Sept. 15.  Bogden was fired in 2006 as part of the Bush administration’s U.S. Attorney purge. Reid recommended him to President Obama for his old job.

• Western District of Washington: Jeffrey C. Sullivan resigned today. He had been the district’s interim U.S. Attorney since John McKay was forced out during the U.S. Attorney firings in 2006. Sullivan will remain in the office, working as a prosecutor in the criminal division. Jenny Durkan was sworn in this morning. She was confirmed Sept. 29.

Andrew Ramonas contributed to this report.

The Senate confirmed three U.S. Attorneys last night by unanimous consent.

They are:

Jenny Durkan (Law Offices of Jenny A. Durkan)

-Jenny Durkan (Western District of Washington): The Seattle lawyer was nominated June 4. She will replace Jeffrey C. Sullivan, who has been the interim U.S. Attorney since John McKay was forced out in the 2006 U.S. Attorney purge. Read more about Durkan here.

Deborah Gilg (Gilg, Kruger & Troia)

-Florence Nakakuni (Hawaii): The Hawaii Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated July 14. She will succeed Bush holdover Edward Kubo Jr., who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about Nakakuni here.

-Deborah Gilg (Nebraska): The Omaha lawyer was nominated July 31. She will replace Bush holdover Joe Stecher, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2007. Read more about Gilg here.

The Senate has now confirmed 14 U.S. Attorneys who have been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Paul Fishman for New Jersey is the only nominee who has been endorsed by the panel, but has not been considered by the full Senate yet. Fishman and Durkan waited more than three months before the Senate Judiciary Committee considered them. Read our previous report about the delays on them here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to consider eight U.S. Attorney nominees, including Timothy Heaphy for the Western District of Virginia who will go before the panel tomorrow.

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed five Justice Department nominees today by unanimous consent.

They are:

Ignacia Moreno

Jenny Durkan (Law Offices of Jenny A. Durkan)

-Ignacia Moreno (Environment and Natural Resources Division Assistant Attorney General): The General Electric Co. counsel was nominated June 8. She would succeed Ronald Tenpas, who resigned in January. Read more about the nominee here.

-Jenny Durkan (Western District of Washington U.S. Attorney): The Seattle lawyer was nominated June 4. She would replace Jeffrey C. Sullivan, who has been the interim U.S. Attorney since John McKay was forced out in the 2006 U.S. Attorney purge. Read more about the nominee here.

Paul Fishman (Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler & Adelman)

-Paul Fishman (New Jersey U.S. Attorney): The New York lawyer was nominated June 4. He would replace Ralph Marra, who became acting U.S. Attorney after Chris Christie resigned in December 2008 to run for New Jersey governor. Read more about Fishman here.

-Florence Nakakuni (Hawaii U.S. Attorney): The Hawaii Assistant U.S. Attorney was nominated July 14. She would replace Bush holdover Edward H. Kubo Jr., who has been U.S. Attorney since 2001. Read more about Nakakuni here.

Deborah Gilg (Gilg, Kruger & Troia)

-Deborah Gilg (Nebraska U.S. Attorney): The Omaha lawyer was nominated July 31. She would replace Bush holdover Joe Stecher, who has been U.S. Attorney since 2007. Read more about the nominee here.

Durkan and Fishman were held over from last week at the request of Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) Read our report here.

The panel has now endorsed a total of 15 U.S. Attorney nominees. The Senate has confirmed 11 U.S. Attorneys that have been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel has yet to consider eight U.S. Attorney nominees.

Moreno joins four Assistant Attorney General nominees, who were reported out of committee and are waiting for votes in the full Senate. Dawn Johnsen (Office of Legal Counsel), Thomas Perez (Civil Rights Division), Christopher Schroeder (Office of Legal Policy) and Mary L. Smith (Tax Division) were endorsed by the panel months ago. Read our report on the stalled nominees here. The panel still has to consider one more Assistant Attorney General nominee, Laurie O. Robinson, who was nominated Sept. 14 to lead the Office of Justice Programs.

President Obama nominated four lawyers to be U.S. Attorneys today, according to a White House news release.

They are:

-Daniel Bogden, Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada

Daniel Bogden (Getty Images)

Bogden is currently a partner in the Nevada law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson.  Bogden previously served as United States Attorney for the District of Nevada from 2001 to 2007.  From 1998 to 2001, Bogden served as the Reno Division Chief in the United States Attorney’s Office.  From 1990 to 1998, he was an Assistant United States Attorney and member of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.  From 1987 to 1990, Bogden was a deputy district attorney with the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office.  Bogden graduated from Ashland University and the University of Toledo’s College of Law.  He served in the United States Air Force on active duty from 1982 to 1987 and remained on inactive reserve until his honorable discharge in March 1995.

Deborah Gilg (Gilg, Kruger & Troia)

-Deborah Gilg, Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska

Gilg is the president of Gilg, Kruger & Troia P.C. L.L.O. in Omaha, Neb., where she has worked since 2005. Gilg has also been the Saunders County, Nebraska Attorney since 2003 and previously served as the County Attorney for both Arthur and Keith County. She began her legal career as a partner in the Beal, Jensen, Cecava and Gilg Law Firm. Gilg graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nebraska College of Law.

-Timothy Heaphy, Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

Timothy Heaphy (McGuire Woods)

Heaphy is a partner at McGuire Woods, LLP, where he has worked since 2006. From 1994 to 2003, Heaphy was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He then served as Deputy Managing Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia until 2005. Prior to that, Heaphy worked as a litigation associate for Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco, California and a law clerk for Justice John A. Terry of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Law School.

-Peter Neronha, Nominee for U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island

Neronha has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Rhode Island for the past seven years. Prior to that, Neronha served in the Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General as special assistant attorney general from 1996 to 2001 and assistant attorney general from 2001 to 2002. Following graduation from law school, he worked as an associate at Goodwin Proctor, LLP in Boston, Massachusetts. Neronha graduated from Boston College and Boston College Law School.

(Biographies are from the White House.)