The suspense as to who would be the next District Attorney of the Second Judicial Circuit has ended.

We applaud Gov. Don Siegelman's decision to name John Andrews to the post. We also believe Siegelman was wise to take a slow, measured approach to weighing the options for retiring District Attorney Van Gholston's successor.

While the transition period will create a short-term bottleneck in the department, we think the Governor made a wise decision to move as he did.

Andrews has seen criminal law from both sides of the aisle, having served as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. That practical experience will be valuable as he steps in as the top prosecutor for Butler, Crenshaw and Lowndes counties.

Andrews effectively becomes the leader of the war against crime in those counties, and we encourage the cooperation of all law enforcement agencies.