Bush's appointed judges and conflict of interest...

As you recall, I posted about Judge Mark Fuller, judge in the Siegleman's case, receiving a 18 million dollar government contract for his company Doss Aviation Inc. Fuller is the President of the company. According to the code of conduct as judge:


In the first chapter of the
Code of Conduct
for United States Judges,
it says, in part:

"...a judge ... should not serve
as an officer, director, active
partner, manager, advisor, or
employee of any business
other than a business closely
held and controlled by
members of the judge's family."

Are there any more cases of judges appointed by Bush that had a conflict of interest? Check this out:

In 2002, Alito dismissed a case in favor of a company where he was heavily invested [Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/15/03]:

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has been accused of a conflict of interest by a woman whose suit he and two other appeals judges dismissed…. According to Alito’s 2002 financial-disclosure statement, the judge held investments worth $390,000 to $930,000 in 11 Vanguard funds in July 2002, when he ruled on a lawsuit filed by Shantee Maharaj of Wayne against Vanguard.

He later recused himself from the case..

Bush nominated Judge Gene Pratter, of Pennsylvania, to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level just below the U.S. Supreme Court. Pratter, who was featured in the CIR report, “Money Trails to the Federal Bench,” gave $2,000 to Bush in 2003, after interviewing with the White House for her judgeship.

Bush also picked Judge Mark Filip, of Illinois, to be deputy attorney general, the No. 2 spot in the Justice Department. Filip gave Bush $2,000 in 2003, after the president nominated him for his judgeship, as earlier reported by CIR.There are no laws against political contributions by a judicial candidate, but some ethics experts and federal judges say that it is inappropriate.