FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         USA
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1995                          (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

      ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES 1996 AG ADVISORY COMMITTEE

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno has
appointed seven new members to the Attorney General's Advisory
Committee of United States Attorneys.  The Committee, created in
l973, advises the Attorney General on law enforcement issues and
gives the U.S. Attorneys a key voice in Department policy.  Each
of the new members will serve two-year terms beginning on January
l, l996.
     The new members are:
          J. Michael Bradford, Eastern District of Texas;        
          Christopher Droney, District of Connecticut;
          Peggy A. Lautenschlager, Western District of 
            Wisconsin;
          Stephen C. Lewis, Northern District of Oklahoma;
          Don C. Nickerson, Southern District of Iowa;
          Donald K. Stern, District of Massachusetts; and
          Charles J. Stevens, Eastern District of California.

     "Each of these talented U.S. Attorneys brings a significant
amount of expertise to the Committee which will be important as
we move ahead in the fight against crime," Reno said.  "In making
these appointments, we have tried to achieve a balance of office
size, judicial district and diversity." 
     Bradford, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
Texas, has been a very active member of the Advisory Committee's
Juvenile Justice Prevention and Assistance Subcommittee and the
Investigative Agency Subcommittee.  He has held the positions of
Briefing Attorney, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Associate and
Partner at Mehaffy, Garcia and Bradford; Assistant United States
Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas; United States
Magistrate, Eastern District of Texas; and Texas State District
Court Judge.  Bradford was appointed by the President as United
States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas on September
29, l994. 
     Droney, United States Attorney for the District of
Connecticut, has made valuable contributions to the Department of
Justice in the civil area as Chair of the Advisory Committee's
Civil Issues Subcommittee.  He was appointed by the President as
United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut on October
2l, l993.  Droney has held positions of Associate Attorney at
Day, Berry and Howard; staff attorney for Aetna Life & Casualty
Company; Associate Attorney for Buckley & Santos; and Associate
Attorney, Vice President and Stockholder for Reid and Reige.  
     Lautenschlager, United States Attorney for the Western
District of Wisconsin, served in the Wisconsin State Assembly
from l989 to l992.  She also held the positions of district
attorney and Acting Circuit Court Commissioner for Winnebago
County, Wisconsin.  Lautenschlager has played a vital role in
furthering the Department's weed and seed efforts as the 
United States Attorneys' representative on the Interagency Weed
and Seed Working Group and Chair of the Advisory Committee's Weed
and Seed Subcommittee.  She is an active member of the Controlled
Substances/Drug Abuse Prevention and Education Subcommittee, the
Native American Issues Subcommittee, and the Organized
Crime/Violent Crime Subcommittee.  She was appointed by the
President as the United States Attorney for the Western District
of Wisconsin on November l7, l993.
     Lewis, United States Attorney for the Northern District of
Oklahoma, is an active member of the Advisory Committee's Health
Care Fraud Subcommittee, Law Enforcement Coordinating/Victim-
Witness Subcommittee, Sentencing Guidelines Subcommittee, and the
Native American Issues Subcommittee.  He began his law career in
l967 as a Commissioned Officer, USNR.  He held the position of
Assistant District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District in
Oklahoma from l97l-74, District Attorney (l974-l979), and
Assistant District Attorney in l992-l993.  Lewis was in private
practice in Shawnee from l979 to l993, and served as State
Representative for the State of Oklahoma during that time (l980-
l990).  On October 6, l993, Lewis was appointed by the President
to serve as United States Attorney for the Northern District of
Oklahoma.  
     Nickerson, United States Attorney for the Southern District
of Iowa, has made valuable contributions to the Department of
Justice in the area of health care fraud.  He has held positions
of Associate Attorney at Parish and Del Gallo; Assistant United
States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa; Instructor for
the Legal Training Program at Drake University Law School;
Associate Attorney at Allen/Babich & Bennett; partner at Babich,
Nickerson, McConnel and Renzo; and instructor for the Legal
Assistance Program, at Des Moines Area Community College. 
Nickerson was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern
District of Iowa by the President on February l4, l994.
     Stern, United States Attorney for the District of
Massachusetts, has served on the Advisory Committee's Financial
Litigation, Public Corruption, and White Collar Crime
Subcommittees and Computer Working Group.  He represents the
United States Attorneys on the Department's Bank Fraud Working
Group and Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group.  He was
appointed by the President to serve as United States Attorney for
the District of Massachusetts on January 6, l994.  Stern has held
positions of instructor and Assistant Professor of Law at Boston
College Law School; Assistant Attorney General for the State of
Massachusetts; Associate, Junior and Senior Partner at Hale and
Dorr; Chief Legal Counsel for the Governor's Office for the State
of Massachusetts; and Senior Partner at Hale and Dorr.  
     Stevens, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of
California, has made valuable contributions to the Department as
a member of the Civil Rights Subcommittee, the Sentencing
Guidelines Subcommittee and White Collar Crime Subcommittee.  He
held positions of Associate Attorney at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher
in Sacramento, California; Assistant United States Attorney for
the Central District of California; Partner in Charge for Gibson,
Dunn and Crutcher in Sacramento; and Adjunct Professor of Law at
McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.  Stevens was appointed by
the President to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of California on November 28, l993.   
     Other members of the Committee who were appointed to two-
year terms in January l995 are:
          Alan D. Bersin, Southern District of California;
          Janice McKenzie Cole, Eastern District of North Carolina;
          Kathryn E. Landreth, District of Nevada;
          Sherry S. Matteucci, District of Montana;
          Thomas J. Monaghan, District of Nebraska;
          P. Michael Patterson, Northern District of Florida; and
          Gregory M. Sleet, District of Delaware.
     
     Janet Napolitano, United States Attorney for the District of
Arizona, was reappointed to the Committee (her term was set to
expire this year) and will serve as its Chair.  Gregory M. Sleet,
United States Attorney, District of Delaware, will serve as Vice
Chair.  
     Michael R. Stiles, United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania and outgoing Chair of the Committee, and
Eric Holder, United States Attorney, District of Columbia, will
serve as ex officio members of the Committee.
     The United States Attorneys whose appointments to the
Advisory Committee will expire on December 3l, l995 are:
          Lynne A. Battaglia, Baltimore, Maryland;
          Kent B. Alexander, Atlanta, Georgia;
          Gaynelle Griffin Jones, Houston, Texas;
          Randall K. Rathbun, Wichita, Kansas;
          Emily M. Sweeney, Cleveland, Ohio;
          Michael Troop, Louisville, Kentucky; and
          Mary Jo White, New York, New York.

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