The selection of U.S. district judges and U.S. attorneys can be one of the most dangerous aspects of American politics. U.S. attorneys, the top dogs of federal law enforcement, serve at the will of the president and are rarely removed until a new president takes office. And U.S. district judges serve for life with near unfettered power. For decades, these appointments were mostly the product of political patronage.
When Republican President George W. Bush took office in 2001, his administration was charged with filling all four U.S. attorney positions in his home state as well as seven vacant U.S. district benches — an unusually high number of judicial openings. The prospect was enough to make Texas lawyers shudder because one bad choice could make their lives rather hellish.
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