The Republican Party in the Virgin Islands has picked Julio Brady as its choice for a presidential appointment to the position of U.S. attorney.
"This is an official recommendation (to the president) by the party," said Holland Redfield, national committeeman and the chairman of the Bush Leadership Team in the territory. He added that Brady is also his personal choice.
Now in private practice heading his own law firm on St. Croix, Brady has spent most of his career with the government, serving as U.S. attorney, lieutenant governor, Territorial Court judge, attorney general and federal programs coordinator.
Brady said Monday morning that he was asked if he was interested in the position of U.S. attorney, and he is, but he has not yet committed himself.
"It's probably the most powerful" position in the territory in terms of affecting people's lives, Brady said. "It's an awesome responsibility," he said.
He noted the office has changed considerably since he worked in it in the 1970s. At that time it was the main prosecuting arm in the Virgin Islands, handling not only federal cases but any serious local case as well. Since then the jurisdiction of the local Justice Department and of the local court has been expanded, and the U.S. Attorney's Office handles only federal cases. At the same time, however, the office staff has grown from "three or four" assistant attorneys to "about 20."
Brady said if he is appointed, he would continue the war on public corruption that former U.S. Attorney James Hurd was waging. A Democratic appointment, Hurd was forced to resign so President George W. Bush could make his own selection.
Brady joined the U.S. Justice Department in the Virgin Islands in 1971 as an assistant U.S. attorney. Two years later he was tapped to head the office in an interim capacity which later became a formal appointment. He served as U.S. attorney from 1973 to 1978, and made his fame during that time prosecuting the famous Fountain Valley murder case.
He resigned and ran for delegate to Congress as a Democrat. He was defeated in the 1978 primary, but then-Gov. Juan Luis created a Federal Programs Office in Washington, D.C., and appointed Brady to head it. Luis subsequently chose Brady as lieutenant governor, and they ran successfully as independents.
Brady made two unsuccessful bids for governor as a Republican, first in 1986 with former Sen. Lilliana Belardo as his running mate and then in 1994 with Redfield.
Gov. Alexander Farrelly, a Democrat, appointed Brady to the Territorial Court, and he served there until 1994 before resigning to launch his second run for governor.
Most recently, he was attorney general under former Gov. Roy Schneider, a Republican. His tenure was somewhat clouded by criticism that he allowed politics to influence his decisions, and he briefly became the center of controversy when he declined to prosecute Sen. Adelbert Bryan for what Bryan maintains was the self-defense killing of his son.
Redfield is not concerned by such criticisms.
"It's a delicate line one walks" as a prosecutor or a judge, he said. The public often second-guesses decisions without knowing all the information that went into making them.
He described Brady as "tempered in his judgments" and well-suited for the position.
Although Brady was active in the Democratic Party many years ago and once ran as an independent, Redfield said he has shown GOP loyalty for 15 years or so. Brady served as a delegate to several national conventions and was legal adviser to the Bush campaign in the Virgin Islands.
"He is a dedicated and committed Republican," Redfield said.
Redfield said the Brady recommendation was made in writing to the Bush administration. Additionally, on a trip to Washington two-and-a-half weeks ago, he spoke on Brady's behalf with Karl Rove, director of political affairs for the White House, and Andy Card, chief of staff to the president.
The nominating process includes interviews for the candidate and a comprehensive investigation of his life by the FBI.
Brady has been through the process before, when he was a candidate for a seat on the District Court bench. He did not win that appointment.
"I think there was a lot of competition" for the judgeship, Redfield said.
As for the nomination as U.S. attorney, "there has not been any definitive word on it as yet" from the White House, Redfield said. "Most appointments, not just the Virgin Islands, are not moving that rapidly."
