U.S. Sens. George Allen and John Warner are angling to have a vacancy on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals filled by one of the commonwealth's own, but it does not yet appear as if any Southwest Virginians are in the mix.

According to state bar associations, four names had been floated for the spot by Friday: U.S. District Judge Walter Kelley of Norfolk, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson of Richmond, University of Richmond law professor John Douglass and Charlottesville lawyer Tom Albro.

Judge Michael Luttig, 51, resigned from the 4th Circuit on May 10 to become senior vice president and general counsel for the Boeing Co. His departure from a lifetime appointment to the bench came as a surprise to many in the legal community.

This week, Allen and Warner announced their desire to recommend at least one Virginia candidate for the vacancy. In a letter to the legal associations that typically vet candidates for open judgeships, the senators said they plan to submit their recommendation to President Bush no later than May 31.

The ultimate decision lies with the president and the Senate, and it's unclear how long the nomination and confirmation processes will take.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals serves Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina and West Virginia. It is authorized to have 15 seats, and each state has traditionally been allotted a certain number of seats.

The departure of Luttig, who lives in Vienna, leaves one Virginia judgeship open.

Legal associations that received the senators' letter are soliciting names of potential candidates.

Phillip Anderson of Roanoke, president of the Virginia State Bar, said they sent letters this week to all federal and appellate judges in Virginia seeking input. As of Friday, only Albro's name had been forwarded to him.

The Virginia Bar Association is also taking names and planning a meeting of its Eastern and Western District federal judgeship committees on Thursday to discuss candidates, said Guy Tower, executive director of the association.

Monica Monday of Roanoke serves as president of the Virginia Bar Association's Western District federal judgeship committee.

She said she believes the senators have set a tight deadline to be sure the president has some Virginia names to consider as soon as possible.

Mark Loftis, a Roanoke lawyer who serves as president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, said he received Kelley's, Hudson's and Douglass' names on Thursday and Friday.

"We'll keep our ears open and try to figure out who else might be in consideration" over the next few days, he said.