di Santi named

to judicial board
By Scott Nicholson

A local attorney will be among those putting potential judicial positions on the desk of President Barack Obama.

Tony di Santi has been selected to serve on a statewide panel that will screen candidates for appointments to federal judicial positions. Di Santi is one of four people who will help make recommendations that are sent to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who will then submit a recommendation to the president for each position.

Di Santi is representing the western portion of the state, and said as a panel member he will review candidate qualifications and help interview them, meeting with the panel to make recommendations to send to Hagan.

He said while some candidates have made their interest known, others will come from the panelists’ knowledge of qualified judges and attorneys.

Di Santi joked that the honor of being appointed a panelist only meant that he was “an older, experienced attorney.” He has practiced law in Boone for 34 years and has been the county attorney since 2004
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The panel will be a standing committee for all federal court appointments, with the initial task being to recommend a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judge. The panel will also make needed recommendations related to other court positions in the 4th Circuit, as well U.S. attorneys, U.S. district courts, magistrates and federal marshals. Hagan will then select a nominee, with Obama making the final decision.

Other panelists include former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell, Janice McKenzie Cole and Locke Clifford.

“I am so honored these four tremendously skilled legal minds have agreed to help me find the most qualified candidates for North Carolina’s federal appointments,” Hagan said in a statement. “I have brought together some of North Carolina’s best and brightest, each of whom offers a diverse range of legal expertise, to help me recommend federal nominees that all North Carolinians, regardless of their political affiliation, will be proud of. I value the opinions of these four committee members and I look forward to receiving their input on decisions that are of such extreme importance when it comes to keeping North Carolina safe and making sure our state’s interests are fully represented in the federal judiciary.”

Di Santi, vice president of the North Carolina State Bar, is a founding partner at Di Santi, Watson, Capua & Wilson, one of Boone’s oldest law firms. A Hendersonville native, Di Santi graduated from the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest School of Law, where he wrote for the Wake Forest Law Review. Di Santi served as an adjunct professor at Appalachian State University for six years. He is a recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals for his service in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.