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SALT LAKE CITY -- The federal version of the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case is about to get a new top prosecutor. Utah's U.S. Attorney, Brett Tolman, is resigning, effective at the end of 2009.
"I'm here to announce that I have submitted my resignation to the president and to the attorney general, effective December 31st of this year," Tolman said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
Tolman is going into private practice here in Utah, over the objections of at least one family member.
"My 7-year-old son really wants me to get a job at Disneyland," Tolman deadpanned. "They don't have any openings, apparently."
Tolman knew with a change in the presidency, his job would end, but he says it comes at a good time. Appointed by the Bush administration in 2006, Tolman says he's grateful to the Obama administration for letting him stay on this long.
One of Tolman's priorities was fighting crimes against children, such as the case of Elizabeth Smart.
"I hope there are children out there today that are safer, that are alive and will go on to live beautiful lives because of the efforts of this office," he said.
He says he would have resigned sooner, but he wanted to finish out the competency hearing process for accused kidnapper Brian David Mitchell.
"That's a case I'm involved in personally, and feel very strongly about and want to see that through to the end," he said.
He said he'd like to see the entire process through, including a trial if there is one, but understands that it could be a long time before there is one.
"The most important part of that case is the competency hearing," he explained, "and that'll be taken care of the end of November and first part of December."
Tolman says he'll be working in corporate law with a firm in the area, moving from prosecuting white collar criminals and fraud artists to helping businesses stay on the right side of the law. An appointee of former President George W. Bush, Tolman took over in July 2006 for a term that ordinarily would run to July 2010.
The 39-year-old's highest profile cases have included a more than two-year investigation into artifacts looting in the Four Corners area and the prosecution of Brian David Mitchell, the man charged in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart.
In the final weeks of the Bush administration in 2008, Tolman was handed another case. University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher was accused of infiltrating a federal oil-and-gas auction in an effort to run up parcel prices to safeguard land near Arches and Canyonlands national parks.
Compiled with information from Becky Bruce and the Associated Press.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
