In an effort to stack the courts with right wing judges, President Bush is moving fast to fill vacant federal judgeships, especially in the federal appeals courts. Bush’s haste to fill these positions is surprising, considering to the rigorous, years-long investigations the GOP demanded of federal judgeship candidates nominated during the Clinton Administration. Bush has set up a screening panel of ultra-conservative lawyers who have held positions as clerks for the most conservative US Supreme Court justices and are members of the Federalist Society. Members of the screening panel tout their anti-Clinton credentials including posts with Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr and the Congressional Whitewater investigations. According to the New York Times, scholars liken the Bush process of swinging the courts to the right to that of the 12 years of Republican dominance under Presidents Ronald Regan and George Bush.
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