Free Republic

ination to the Supreme Court made by President Barack Obama, the White House is surely gearing up for a strategic nomination and epic battle for the future of the highest court in the country. Obama needs to move forward quickly with a transformative nominee who stands a chance of success on Capitol Hill. Diane Humetewa, U.S. District Judge for the District of Arizona is perhaps the most likely person to advance through Senate confirmation during Obama's final year in office. Nominating her would transform the federal judiciary, bring Native Americans into the highest echelons of political society, and actually stand...

I took Indian Law at ASU and one thing that surprised me was how much jurisdiction the federal government has in Indian Country--that means that the US Attorney (especially for Arizona) needs to have extensive experience in Indian Law. That's why there was widespread excitement in the ASU Indian Law Department when President Bush appointed ASU Indian Law Center graduate Diane Humetewa as US Attorney. Not only did Diane know Indian Law, but she was Native American, and some folks felt it was a nice touch to have a highly qualified native American woman working with Arizona's 23 Indian Tribes....

Diane J. Humetewa, the first female Native American U.S. attorney in history, will soon be out of a job – and not because she’s doing a bad job, either. Instead, she will become a casualty of the political appointee process that comes with each new presidential administration. Humetewa took the oath of office to become a U.S. attorney from Arizona in December 2007 and was formally sworn in a month and a half later. Indian country found big reason to celebrate. Not only was the longtime tribal justice advocate breaking a glass ceiling, she was rising to the heights of...