Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Betcha Didn't Know This
ETHICS -- POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY JUDICIAL NOMINEES RAISE ETHICAL CONCERNS: "At least two dozen federal judges appointed by President Bush since 2001 made political contributions to key Republicans or to the president himself while under consideration for their judgeships, " a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting reveals. Twenty-three percent of Bush-appointed appellate judges and more than 16 percent of district judges gave contributions to Bush, national campaign committees, and legislators influential in the judicial nomination process while they were being considered for the bench. There are currently no laws that prohibit campaign contributions by judicial nominees, but critics fear that "creating even the appearance of impropriety ...can shake the public's confidence in the impartiality and independence of the judiciary." The President considers judicial nominees with input from senators of the same party, a process that is often controlled by state party politics . "If you don't have the blessing of the county and state party chairs you can stop right there," says Professor Tom Hagel, a professor at the University of Dayton School of Law and a part-time trial judge and brother to Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Political contributions, he explains, "play into that process, as a demonstration of 'how loyal and appreciative' a judicial candidate is. "

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