COLUMBIA, S.C. - Circuit Judge Reginald Lloyd will be tapped by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham as South Carolina's first black U.S. attorney since Reconstruction, sources close to Graham told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Sources spoke on a condition of anonymity, and Graham's office declined to comment.

Lloyd, 38, has served as a Circuit Court judge since 2003. A message left at his office Tuesday was not returned.

Interim U.S. Attorney Johnny Gasser, who took over in January after Strom Thurmond Jr. stepped down, said Justice Department policy prevented him from commenting directly on the selection of a new U.S. attorney. However, Gasser said, "To the extent that Judge Lloyd is being considered, there's no question in my mind that he'd do a fine job."

Lloyd would be the state's first black U.S. attorney to serve permanently in the past century, although U.S. District Judge Margaret Seymour served on an interim basis on two occasions.

"I think it will be another statement that another barrier has fallen and that all lawyers in this state should be proud of that fact," said Burnele Venable Powell, dean of the University of South Carolina law school. Powell became the school's first black dean in December 2003, and is one of only a handful of black deans at American Bar Association-approved law schools.

"I think it is important because it is a measure of where we are as a state," Powell said of Lloyd's expected nomination. "It indicates we've reached the point where increasingly the only determination or consideration is the quality of the individual. That's a good thing for everybody."

Powell said Lloyd has served with distinction and is an excellent choice for the post.

"I think it's a huge step, and I think Reggie is very qualified," said Columbia attorney Tameika Isaac Devine, secretary for the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association. "He's an excellent judge. I think the state would be well served."

There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. U.S. attorneys are responsible for prosecuting criminal cases brought by the federal government, prosecuting and defending civil cases in which the United States is a party and collecting certain debts owed to the federal government.

U.S. attorneys are officially appointed by the president, but their nominations come with advice from the Senate, which is where Graham comes in. Lloyd would need to be confirmed by the Senate after an official nomination from President Bush.

Lloyd was born in Camden. He graduated from Winthrop University in 1989 and from the University of South Carolina law school in 1993. He worked for the state attorney general's office from 1995 to 1998 and served as chief counsel to the state House Judiciary Committee from 1998 to 2000.

Lloyd was elected to an at-large judicial seat in 2003.