Federal Magistrate Susan Richard Nelson will be nominated for the vacant federal judgeship from Minnesota, I'm reliably informed.

Nelson, who had been a federal magistrate since 2000, has been rumored for some time to be among the top contenders to fill the vacancy created when U.S. Judge James Rosenbaum took senior status. Minnesota Appeals Court Judge Mimi Wright had been considered another leading contender for the nomination.

A search committee has been working to winnow the field and arrive at a recommendation, which will flow from the committee to the Minnesota's U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, to the Justice Department. Technically, Nelson will be nominated by Pres. Obama and her nomination will have to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

Klobuchar, the senior senator, is very familiar with Minnesota lawyers and judges from her days as Hennepin County attorney and was surely the key player in the selection process.

A federal judgeship is a lifetime appointment and, to the legal community, each appointment is a major deal. There has been talk that whoever got this appointment might soon considered for the appointment to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Minnesota. Judge Diana Murphy, the only Minnesotan with Democratic origins on that court, could soon take senior status on that court. Murphy is also the only woman (ever, actually) on that appellate court, which may be among the reasons that most of the leading contenders for the Minnesota vacancy were female.

Nelson was born in 1952, graduated from Oberlin College and University of Pittsburgh law school. She practiced with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi before becoming a magistrate. She was closely associated with Mike Ciresi and was among the top members of his team that won the big multi-billion-dollar 1998 settlement between Minnesota and big tobacco.

Before joining the bench, Nelson made a few political contributions to federal candidates, all to Democrats.

Nelson is married to Tom Nelson, a prominent Twin Cities business litigator currently with the firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard.