CROWN POINT | Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter respectfully declined Monday any interest in becoming Northern Indiana's first black federal judge or U.S. attorney.

A group of state legislators, municipal judges and other Lake County officials suggested Carter's name last week as a potential candidate for one of the federal offices.

Carter said he prefers to stay prosecutor, which he has been since 1994.

"It's a huge compliment when people bring your name up in that context, but I enjoy what I do now," he said. "You've got to have a passion for what you do."

Carter's name was among 15 on a list of black attorneys who some local officials and community leaders believe are qualified for the federal posts.

The only other name released was Karen Freeman Wilson, a Gary attorney who has served as Indiana attorney general and Gary city judge.

Freeman Wilson previously expressed interest in becoming U.S. attorney.

Former Gary Mayor Richard G. Hatcher said Friday that no black federal judge has served in the state's history.

He and other local officials and community leaders called upon President Barack Obama to give Northern Indiana its first.

Barbara A. Bolling, president of the Indiana chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the group decided to make a plea for public pressure for diversity on the federal bench after U.S. Sen. Even Bayh, D-Ind., named David F. Hamilton, a white downstate U.S. District Court judge, to the federal appeals court without consulting with black legal associations.