President Bush has had eight years during which to appoint federal judges and he has taken full advantage of his opportunity. When criticized over his appointments, the President always used the standard GOP line, saying he appointed judges using one criteria: “the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not to legislate from the bench.” But many legal scholars say that he has only appointed judges who subscribed to the right wing doctrine of the GOP and on many occasions the appointees did in fact create new law by way of their rulings. I hope that wasn’t always the case and don’t believe it has been in my area of the country. All of the judges appointed in Alabama, for example, have been fair and just in their rulings.

A look at the judges who were appointed by the President is most revealing. As a result of the 311 Bush appointments to Federal District Courts and the Appellate bench, judges across the country are now more male and more white than they were at the end of the Clinton presidency. A third of the nominees during Bush’s first term had “a history of working as lawyers and lobbyists on behalf of the oil, gas and energy industries,” according to a study by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Another study by the University of Houston of rulings by President Bush’s district court appointees shows a pattern of disdain for the Bill of Rights, civil rights and privacy rights.

While President Bush will go down in history as one of the worst presidents ever, hopefully, the federal judges this man appointed will turn out much better than expected on issues that affect ordinary folks.

Source: Washington Post

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