Rosenthal's replacement coming

Looks like we may finally get a replacement DA soon.

Gov. Rick Perry hopes to name an interim Harris County district attorney as early as this week, his office confirmed Tuesday, and the man now running the office says he's not interested in finishing out the term if it's offered.

Perry spokeswoman Krista Piferrer said "a whole host" of candidates have been considered for the position since Chuck Rosenthal resigned amid scandal last month.

Perry's staff discussed how they might go about filling the opening with former district attorney John B. Holmes Jr., but did not offer him the interim post, Piferrer said. Holmes wouldn't be eligible for the job because he now lives in Austin County.

Whomever Perry appoints would serve the remainder of Rosenthal's term through the end of the year. Voters will elect a new district attorney in November.

Piferrer did not rule out the possibility that the interim spot could go to one of the three candidates seeking the office. But the Republican Party won't settle on a candidate until the April 8 runoff election between Kelly Siegler and Pat Lykos. And the odds of the Republican governor appointing the Democratic candidate, C.O. Bradford, would seem slim.

Since Rosenthal's resignation, the district attorney's office has been directed by first Assistant District Attorney Bert Graham. Graham on Tuesday said he has not been approached about the temporary job, nor would he accept it if offered.

I'd have considered Bert Graham to be the best choice, but if he doesn't want it, then that's that. It's just as well Johnny Holmes isn't eligible, it'd be too weird having him back. Given that it won't be Siegler, Lykos, or Bradford, I guess whoever it is will be a surprise. Anyone want to speculate?

Meanwhile, the story also has an update on Rosenthal's legal situation.

A hearing set to resume Friday on whether Rosenthal should be held in contempt of court has been canceled, but the federal judge presiding over the matter wants to review sworn statements regarding Rosen- thal's use of prescription drugs. A ruling on the contempt motion is expected shortly after those documents are filed.

[...]

An order signed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt suggests the court will consider whether Rosenthal's use of medication affected his ability to tell the truth or realize the impact of his actions when he deleted documents sought for a civil rights lawsuit.

[...]

Hoyt has given Rosenthal and his physician until 4:30 p.m. Friday to submit sworn statements. The doctor's will be sealed from public view.

Though the doctor was not identified in Hoyt's order, Rosenthal claimed to be a patient of physician Sam Siegler while testifying during a deposition in November. He is Kelly Siegler's husband.

Not exactly sure why the hearing was cancelled - I guess maybe Judge Hoyt figures he can get all the info he needs to make a decision from the sworn statements. That makes this a lot less fun overall, but I suppose we'll cope. I look forward to Judge Hoyt's eventual ruling on this.

UPDATE: We have a name.

Gov. Rick Perry plans to name Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, as the new Harris County district attorney, once he gets approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, a source close to the process said today.

It wasn't known when that approval would be received.

Magidson was waiting to get an assurance from the Justice Department that he would get his job back after a district attorney is elected in November, the source said.

[...]

Magidson, 59, was a Harris County assistant district attorney in the early 1980s and became an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston by 1985. His wife Anita is a former administrator of a state felony court.

[...]

In 1996, then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno appointed him director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, a set of agencies he started working with from Houston in 1987.

The Justice Department statement on the 1996 appointment said he "has a wide and well-earned reputation as a leading prosecutor, having been responsible for major drug trafficking, RICO (racketeering) and money laundering cases at the federal level (and) capital murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping cases at the state level."

Welcome aboard, sir. Here's hoping you can successfully steer this leaky ship till January. Best of luck to you.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 12, 2008 to Local politics