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Tampa Lawyer Tapped To Lead Federal Nominating Panel

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TBO.com

Published: February 27, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa lawyer John Fitzgibbons has been named to head a statewide panel that picks finalists for presidential appointments to district judgeships, U.S. attorneys and U.S. marshals.

Fitzgibbons was picked by Florida's senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez, to lead a revamped 56-member Florida Judicial Nominating Commission, which is divided into three geographic boards for each of the state's federal judicial districts.

"I appreciate the confidence that the senators have placed in me," Fitzgibbons said today. "Sen. Nelson has made it very clear that he wants the very best candidates for judges, U.S. attorneys and marshals, with a strong emphasis on intelligence, temperament and integrity."

Fitzgibbons was an assistant federal prosecutor in Tampa in the 1980s and formerly a lawyer in the U.S. Justice Department's Public Integrity Section in Washington. As a private attorney, his high-profile defendants include a teacher who had sex with a student and an "American Idol" contestant involved in a dispute at a South Tampa café.

A new set of rules for the JNC, worked out by Nelson and Martinez, are designed to provide a bipartisan template under which the panel will recommend finalists to the state's two senators.

The senators will interview candidates and forward names to the White House, unless they object to a specific individual's appointment.

"We have tried to provide a process beyond the reach of partisan politics to help select the top candidates for jobs that involve upholding the public trust," Nelson said today.

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