Judiciary panel to vote on U.S. prosecutor for southwest Alabama

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee is set Thursday to take up Kenyen Brown's bid to become the top federal prosecutor for southwest Alabama, according to an agenda posted on the panel's Web site.

President Barack Obama formally selected Brown for the post of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama in August. His nomination, one of a half-dozen scheduled for consideration at the Thursday morning meeting, is likely to win easy committee approval, particularly since Sen. Jeff Sessions of Mobile, the panel's top Republican, is expected to support it, according to a spokesman.

If approved, Brown's candidacy would then go the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.

Brown, 40, served as assistant U.S. attorney in the Mobile office from 1996 to 1999. He has since worked on Capitol Hill and is now director of advice and education for the House ethics committee.

According to Rep. Artur Davis, a Birmingham Democrat whose district includes Choctaw County and part of Clarke County, Brown would be the first black U.S. attorney in Alabama history.

A Justice Department spokeswoman wouldn't go as far as Davis in marking the historical significance, but said Tuesday that the agency believes that Brown would be the first black U.S. attorney in the Southern District.

The U.S. attorney's office in Mobile is responsible for criminal and civil cases in a 13-county region ranging northward from Mobile and Baldwin counties to Perry County. The office's top post has been vacant since mid-April when Deborah Rhodes, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, resigned.