Assistant Jackson County prosecutor confirmed as U.S. attorney

The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of a veteran Jackson County prosecutor to be the new U.S. attorney for western Missouri.

Angela Tammy Dickinson was nominated in July by President Barack Obama, and the Senate voted unanimously on New Year’s Day to approve her appointment. The president still must sign paperwork to make the appointment official.

Dickinson, a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, began her career in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office in 1998. She started as an intern and rose to her current position of chief trial assistant in 2004.

Dickinson said Wednesday that she was grateful for and honored by the support she received from the president and members of Congress, especially the U.S. senators from Missouri, Claire McCaskill and Roy Blunt.

“I will work hard every day as U.S. attorney for the western district of Missouri to honor their support,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson said that it is too soon to discuss any specific initiatives she plans to pursue but that she looks forward to working with a “great staff” in the U.S. attorney’s office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark has been acting head of the office since Obama nominated the previous U.S. attorney, Beth Phillips, in June 2011 to be a federal judge.

“Angela Tammy Dickinson has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to justice throughout her career, and I am honored to nominate her,” Obama said in a statement announcing her nomination last year.