And thanks primarily to a generous pension from the law firm of Parr-Waddoups, Kimball earned a minimum of $112,500 in income outside of his judicial salary. The maximum, based on the sliding scale allowed in the disclosure report, would be about $1 million.

Kimball's potential conflicts are several. Not only is there the Parr-Waddoups pension — a law firm that presumably practices in the federal courts — Kimball has an interest in two rental properties that produce annual revenue of up to $5,000.

Kimball is active with various nonfederal legal groups, including being a director of the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the Salt Lake Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. He's also a member of the American Bar Foundation.

Informative tool

U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell may not have the investment income of some of his colleagues on the bench. But his 2003 disclosure form reports he earned just less than $19,000 in salary from the University of Utah law school and another $10,000 in book royalties.

Cassell's financial portfolio is all invested in IRAs, money market accounts and the Utah Retirement System.

He also noted his wife worked for the Sandy City Attorney's Office at the time (she's now with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office), and that he received reimbursement from the Federalist Society for travel to an annual convention in Washington, D.C.

But Cassell's income from his 12 investments was less than $4,000. The total value of those investments was worth a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $295,000.

U.S. District Judge David Sam reported six investments that produced less than $1,000 in outside income. Altogether, the investments are worth $90,000 or less, the report states.

Sam's potential conflicts could include oil and gas development. He gets a royalty from Chevron for a gas lease, and he says he has one-half interest in unspecified oil and gas leases — a hot commodity with today's energy crises and a potential topic to end up in the federal courts.

And his most embarrassing investment was probably Enron.

Federal judges are required by federal law to disclose their financial information to the Judicial Conference every year. A study by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found the public can obtain these reports only after lengthy delays and processing fees.

Judicial Watch, an independent group based in Washington, D.C., now makes the reports available free of charge to the public.

"We believe posting these reports will help educate the public about, and increase understanding of, federal judicial operations," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "The information also can serve as a tool to ensure that the federal judicial process is above reproach."

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com; awelling@desnews.com