from The New York Times; reporting by The Associated Press

TRENTON (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that one of his seven nominees for Superior Court judgeships would be a lawyer who represented many detainees swept up by the government in the post-9/11 dragnet.

The lawyer, Sohail Mohammed, worked in the aftermath of the attacks to try to foster trust between American Muslims and law enforcement, particularly federal officials. He is a board member of the American Muslim Union. Mr. Christie, a United States attorney, was a regular guest at that group’s annual Ramadan dinner and spoke highly of Mr. Mohammed’s work.

Mr. Mohammed was on former Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s short list of potential judicial appointees, but he was not nominated. He would serve on the court in Passaic County. His appointment requires confirmation by the State Senate.

Mr. Mohammed declined to comment.

Mr. Mohammed helped arrange a law enforcement job fair at a Paterson mosque in which young Muslims were encouraged to apply for jobs with law enforcement agencies. The session also featured a question-and-answer session for mosque members with the police and prosecutors.

He was also asked to give many training sessions to F.B.I. agents on Islam and Muslim culture.

Mr. Mohammed, if confirmed, would become the second Muslim judge of the Superior Court in New Jersey. Last year, Hani Mawla was confirmed to the bench in Somerset County.

Original Article can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/nyregion/14christie.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion