As Dean Kearney noted in an earlier post, I am serving as chair of the Federal Nominating Commission for the United States Attorney position in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  The Commission completed its first item of business this past week by approving the questionnaire to be used by applicants.  The forms and instructions are available here.  (The link also contains the nearly identical questionnaire to be used by applicants for the Western District judicial opening.)  Applications are due at noon on March 2.

In reviewing the questionnaire, I am glad that I myself am not an applicant — we are asking applicants to gather and present a large quantity of information about themselves in a short period of time.  I hope that well-qualified attorneys will not be deterred by this process.  There is, of course, a delicate balance to strike: on the one hand, we do not wish to deter applicants through an unduly onerous process; but, on the other hand, it is critical for the Commission to have adequate information to assess the competence and integrity of all of the candidates for such an important position of public trust.  I hope that we have struck the balance appropriately.