President Obama has appointed an Albany Law School alumnus to be the next top attorney in a federal court district that includes the Capital Region.
On Dec. 24, Obama said he had selected Richard Hartunian to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. One division of the district is centered in Albany.
A 1986 graduate of Albany Law School, Hartunian has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District for 12 years. Before that, he was an assistant district attorney in Albany County.
Hartunian must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A vote has not been set.
If confirmed, Hartunian would take over for acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Baxter, who took the interim post after Glenn Suddaby resigned in fall 2008.
The Northern District consists of more than 30 counties, up to the Canadian border and stretching west into the Finger Lakes region.