Pres. Obama nominates openly homosexual prosecutor for California district

A lesbian prosecutor in San Diego credited with coordinating high-profile narcotics cases along the U.S.-Mexico border was nominated Wednesday by President Obama to be United States attorney for the Southern District of California.

If confirmed by the Senate, Laura Duffy would become the second openly gay person to serve as a U.S. attorney. In September, the Senate confirmed lesbian attorney Jenny Durkan as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Her confirmation took place four months after Obama nominated her in May.

Duffy is one of four people Obama nominated Wednesday for a U.S. attorney position in various parts of the country.

“These distinguished men and women have shown extraordinary commitment and integrity in their pursuit of justice,” Obama said in a statement. “I am confident they will serve the American people wisely and effectively as United States attorneys.”

Duffy has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of California, which is headquartered in San Diego, since 1997. She served in the Narcotics Enforcement Section of the office until 2007, when she became deputy chief of the General Crimes Section.

Before joining the Southern District office, she worked in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington from 1993 to 1997. In that post, she worked initially as a trial attorney for the Money Laundering Section and later as a trial attorney for the Narcotics & Dangerous Drug Section.

“Duffy is well regarded among defense attorneys and judges, and the majority of her cases have involved drug prosecutions,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Wednesday.

Among the most widely reported cases she prosecuted was that of Mexican drug kingpin Arellano Felix, who was captured in 2006 on a boat off the Mexican coast and brought to San Diego, where he faced a possible death penalty, the Union-Tribune reported. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.

If confirmed, Duffy would be one of 93 U.S. attorneys serving in 94 federal judicial districts throughout the country. The Southern District of California is the nation’s sixth largest and has one of the largest caseloads in the country, according office’s web site. [READ MORE]