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. ##### 95-639