Diane J. Humetewa was the United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 for the District of Arizona

United States District Court for the District of Arizona

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott. The district was created on June 20, 1910, by 36 Stat. 557...

, serving in that position since December 2007 to August 2009. Humetewa received her law degree in 1993 from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is one of the professional graduate schools at Arizona State University, located in Tempe, Arizona. Founded in 1964, the law school has held American Bar Association accreditation since 1969. The school is currently located in , adjacent to the architecturally...

 at Arizona State University. A member of the Hopi

Hopi

The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...

 tribe, Humetewa is the first Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 woman to serve as a U.S. Attorney.

Previously the Tribal Liaison and Senior Litigation Counsel in the office she later headed, Humetewa was recommended in January 2007 by both of Arizona's senators, John McCain

John McCain

John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 and Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl

Jon Llewellyn Kyl is the junior U.S. Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010 he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.The son...

, nominated by President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 in November and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona on 17 December 2007. The Investiture for Humetewa was held on 6 February 2008 at the Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse

Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse

The Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse is a United States courthouse at 401 West Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona. Pursuant to , enacted by the United States Congress, it is named after the former Supreme Court justice....

 in Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

.

Humetewa was the permanent successor of Paul K. Charlton

Paul K. Charlton

Paul K. Charlton is a former United States Attorney and currently a partner at the Phoenix, Ariz., law firm Gallagher & Kennedy.Charlton primarily represents corporations and public officials seeking to interface with federal and state law enforcement officials...

, whose dismissal on 7 December 2006 was a prominent aspect of the Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy

The dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy was initiated by the unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys on December 7, 2006 by the George W. Bush administration's Department of Justice. Congressional investigations focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White...

 in early 2007. Daniel G. Knauss

Daniel G. Knauss

Daniel G. Knauss was the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona. Daniel served in that position through until in 1993, Janet Napolitano was appointed by President Bill Clinton as United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.-References:...

 had served as interim U.S. Attorney for one year. Knauss and Humetewa continued to pursue the criminal investigation of Congressman Rick Renzi

Rick Renzi

Richard George "Rick" Renzi is a former American politician and was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing . Renzi has pending Federal criminal charges against him for his involvement in a land-swap deal. On April 19, 2007, the FBI raided his family...

 (R

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

-AZ

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

), begun by Charlton in September 2006. Renzi was indicted on 22 February 2008.

Humetewa is considered a national expert on Native American legal issues and has instructed law enforcement and prosecutors. She has served since 2002 as a judge pro tem on the Hopi Tribal Appellate Court, and as an ad hoc member of the Native American Subcommittee of the U.S. Sentencing Commission

United States Sentencing Commission

The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the federal government of the United States. It is responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for the United States federal courts...

.

Humetewa resigned effective 2 August 2009 when President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

nominated Dennis K. Burke as the next United States Attorney for the District of Arizona.