the judicial oath of office, presumably because he could not credibly serve as a federal judge, who is supposed to be nonpartisan, while fulfilling the purely political task of ensuring that Thomas got a Supreme Court seat. Federal judgeship On April 23, 1991, President George H. W. Bush nominated Luttig to fill a newly created seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 26, 1991 and received his commission on August 2, 1991. He became the youngest judge (at age 37) on a federal appeals court at the time of his appointment. On the bench, Luttig was compared to Justice Scalia for his analytical rigor and for criticizing his colleagues for inconsistencies or embellishments in their judicial opinions and right-wing extremism. He was also similar to Scalia in that his judicial philosophy sometimes led to what were seen as some anti-conservative opinions. Luttig was mentioned frequently as being near the top of George W. Bush's list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States despite opposition from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a dispute between Luttig and the Bush administration over the handling of the case of alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla (see below). Bush interviewed Luttig but ultimately did not choose him to fill either of two Supreme Court vacancies in 2005. Those two seats were filled by John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Luttig was among the leading feeder judges on the U.S. court of appeals, with more than 40 of his law clerks going on to clerk with conservative justices on the Supreme Court. Of those, 33 clerked for either Justice Thomas or Justice Scalia. Luttig's clerks have nicknamed themselves "Luttigators". Father's murder Luttig's father, John Luttig, was fatally shot in 1994 in a carjacking by Napoleon Beazley, who at the time of the crime was a seventeen-year-old minor. Luttig testified in the sentencing portion of the trial, supporting imposition of the death penalty. Beazley was convicted, condemned to death, and eventually executed after twice appealing to the Supreme Court. Justices Antonin Scalia, David Souter, and Clarence Thomas recused themselves because of past association with Luttig. Scalia recused himself because Luttig had clerked for him; Souter and Thomas recused themselves because Luttig led the George H. W. Bush Administration's efforts to win their Senate confirmation. Cases Padilla v. Hanft In