WASHINGTON, D.C. – Informed sources say the U.S. Department of Justice has begun its work on President Obama's nomination of a new U.S. Attorney for North Mississippi.

Reports continue to say the choice will be Booneville native Christi R. McCoy, 40, who practices in Oxford.

McCoy is expected soon to receive a packet of forms with questions about her life, finances and legal practice.

She'll complete them for DOJ scrutiny, and if that vetting goes well, she'll be interviewed personally in the nation's capital.

Mississippi has never had a female U.S. Attorney.

Any US Attorney nomination by the White House must be approved by the U.S. Senate.

President Obama's choice will succeed Republican James Greenlee and manage the office and its staff in Oxford. The office's work stretches throughout the northern part of the state.

The U.S. Attorney is the federal government's chief lawyer for the region and investigates and prosecutes various criminal and civil cases.

The Daily Journal has no information yet about how the process is moving to fill the Southern Mississippi post vacated by the resignation of Dunn Lampton, although early informed reports said Natchez attorney Debra McDonald is a top contender.

For more information, read Tuesday's Daily Journal and NEMS360.com.