Tricia Harris, an assistant U.S. attorney in Little Rock for more than eight years, has been chosen by judges in the Eastern District of Arkansas as the next U.S. magistrate judge.
Harris, 51, will replace U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young, who retired March 31 after nearly 30 years on the bench.
When Harris was hired as a federal prosecutor in January 2007 by then-U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin, Griffin described her as "highly regarded in the legal community" and said the office was "fortunate to have someone as talented and experienced as Tricia Harris."
Before joining the U.S. attorney's office, Harris was a partner with the Wright, Lindsey & Jennings law firm in Little Rock, where she focused on civil litigation, including medical malpractice and product liability defense.
In October, Harris served as the district's election officer to help the U.S. Department of Justice handle complaints of election fraud and voting-rights abuses.
U.S. District Clerk Jim McCormack said the judges released Harris' name Tuesday morning as the person who received the most votes from a list of five candidates chosen by a merit selection panel. The panel, which includes attorneys and other members of the community, was formed in January and given 90 days to review applications, interview the candidates and submit a final report to the district judges.
Neither the committee members nor the names of the other candidates are released.
Magistrate judges serve eight-year renewable terms. Their duties include conducting most pretrial proceedings in criminal cases, such as authorizing search warrants, arraigning defendants and setting bail, trying or otherwise disposing of misdemeanor cases, presiding over pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings assigned to them by district judges, and trying civil cases upon the consent of the litigants.
McCormack said Harris, who on Tuesday was out of the state teaching, won't officially have the job until she passes an FBI background investigation. He said the paperwork for the background investigation will be completed this week, but it isn't known how long the investigation will take.
McCormack said Harris is likely to take on her new duties as soon as the background investigation is completed.
Harris is a 1989 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, where she served as executive editor of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Journal. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, she had been an adjunct professor at the law school for 10 years. She also served on the board of the Pulaski County Bar Foundation and was a member of the executive committee of the William R. Overton Inn of Court and the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Metro on 05/13/2015