New Attorney General Michael Mukasey has nominated Northern District Judge Mark Filip to be his Deputy Attorney General (the #2 position at the Department of Justice), replacing acting Deputy Attorney General Craig Morford.  Judge Filip clerked for Justice Scalia and served as a Northern District Assistant United States Attorney for five years, before briefly entering private practice and then taking the bench.  Here is what the Chicago Tribune (via the Associated Press) had to say about Judge Filip’s sterling reputation as a judge:

Filip was nominated for the federal bench in November 2003, and he is widely viewed as a smart and down-to-earth jurist. He was ranked first among federal judges in terms of integrity and professionalism in a 2006 poll of Chicago-area attorneys.

Congratulations Judge Filip.  You will be missed in the Northern District.

I will keep you updated on the confirmation process and the efforts to fill the vacancy that Judge Filip’s confirmation will create.

*  A hat tip to the WSJ Law Blog for the fast post regarding Judge Filip’s nomination.