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Do all federal judges require a background check? I don't have the worst background in the world but don't consider myself in the best shape for C&F, and I'm not excited for a judge I'm working with to see some of my skeletons. Any info from past/current clerks would be appreciated.

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Background checks are conducted by an external Federal agency. HR has no input with them regarding your status (besides making sure your answers are facially compliant). The federal investigators give HR their recommendation when the check is complete.

I'm guessing for clerkships it's just a regular check for public trust position? You really don't have much to worry about--their number one concern is whether someone has leverage over you which they could use for blackmail attempts. Investigator might try to intimidate you with a no-nonsense attitude but lol. I straight up told one that I smoked marijuana and nobody cared.

At what point is the background check for a federal clerkship conducted?

i was worried about this myself when i started my federal clerkship. i had a couple underage drinking violations and one arrest for driving with a suspended license. also my credit score was around 600. AFTER you are hired and usually around the time you start your clerkship, the HR dept takes your fingerprints and does criminal background check through the FBI central records. my judge did not run a credit check, although I've heard some of them ask HR to do that. but i think it's rare. i never heard anything back from HR after I gave them my info. i dont think theres a whole lot to worry about unless you've got some pretty serious convictions

oh, for federal clerkships, they also run a state background check within the state you're clerking in. i kind of thought that was weird

I know of several DDC and EDVA judges who require their clerks to get a top secret security clearance. Outside of that, it's just a basic background check by HR that might not even get done until after you start working.

It usually happens during the first few weeks of your clerkship. For me, I got an email about 2 weeks in with a link to my HR docs. They seem to be pretty slow.