For those like the Sardonic Lawyer who fear that Bush appointees will pen "outcome-oriented opinions" tailored to conservative preferences, I offer the somewhat heartening tale of Judge Rosemary M. Collyer:

A federal court has struck down personnel rules adopted by the Department of Homeland Security, saying they violate the rights and protections given to employees by Congress.

In a ruling on Friday night, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of U.S. District Court said the rules did not "ensure collective bargaining" as required by the law that created the department. The rules were to take effect on Monday. [...]

Collyer, who was appointed by President Bush, said the 2002 law gave federal officials "extraordinary authority" to develop a personnel system without regard to many of the constraints normally imposed by Civil Service laws. But, she said, the Bush administration exceeded even the "broad authority" granted by Congress. "Significant aspects of the human resources system fail to conform to the express dictates of the Homeland Security Act," Collyer wrote.

Of course, this isn't the only instance of a conservative judge's ruling against the Bush Administration in matters relating to the war on terror; Justice Scalia's dissent in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld actually went further than the majority's opinion by declaring that the detention without charge of a U.S. citizen, absent explicit Congressional authorization, was constitutionally impermissible and not merely requiring that the citizen be given a hearing.