United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary (informally Senate Judiciary Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Congressional confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges. In recent years, this role has made the committee increasingly a point of contention, with numerous party-line votes and standoffs over which judges should be approved. The committee also has a broad jurisdiction over matters relating to federal criminal law.

The committee, along with the Finance and Foreign Relations committees, is one of the oldest in the Senate, having been initially created in 1816.

1 Members, 110th Congress
2 Subcommittees
3 Chairmen since 1816
4 External links
5 See also

Members, 110th Congress

The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont. The Ranking Minority Member is Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

Majority Member State Patrick Leahy, Chairman Vermont Edward Kennedy Massachusetts Joseph R. Biden, Jr.Delaware Herb Kohl Wisconsin Dianne Feinstein California Russ Feingold Wisconsin Chuck Schumer New York Richard Durbin Illinois Benjamin Cardin Maryland Sheldon Whitehouse Rhode IslandMinority Member State Arlen Specter, Ranking Member Pennsylvania Orrin Hatch Utah Chuck Grassley Iowa Jon Kyl Arizona Jeff Sessions Alabama Lindsey Graham South Carolina John Cornyn Texas Sam Brownback Kansas Tom Coburn Oklahoma

Subcommittees

Subcommittee Chair Ranking member Administrative Oversight and the Courts Chuck Schumer(D-NY) Jeff Sessions(R-AL) Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Herbert Kohl(D-WI) Orrin Hatch(R-UT) The Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights Russ Feingold(D-WI) Sam Brownback(R-KS) Human Rights and the Law Richard Durbin(D-IL) Tom Coburn(R-OK) Crime and Drugs Joe Biden(D-DE) Lindsey Graham(R-SC) Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship Ted Kennedy(D-MA) John Cornyn(R-TX) Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Dianne Feinstein(D-CA) Jon Kyl(R-AZ)

Chairmen since 1816

Chairman Party State Years Dudley Chase Democratic-Republican Vermont1816–1817 John J. Crittenden Democratic-Republican Kentucky1817–1818 James Burrill, Jr.Federalist Rhode Island1818–1819 William Smith Democratic-Republican South Carolina1819–1823 Martin Van Buren Democratic-Republican New York1823–1828 John M. Berrien Jacksonian Georgia1828–1829 John Rowan Democratic-Republican Kentucky1829–1831 William L. Marcy Jacksonian New York1831–1832 William Wilkins Democratic Pennsylvania1832-1833 John M. Clayton Whig Delaware1833–1836 Felix Grundy Jacksonian Tennessee1836-1838 Garret D. Wall Democratic New Jersey1838–1841 John M. Berrien Whig Georgia1841–1845 Chester Ashley Democratic Arkansas1845–1847 Andrew P. Butler Democratic South Carolina1847–1857 James A. Bayard, Jr.Democratic Delaware1857–1861 Lyman Trumbull Republican Illinois1861-1872 George F. Edmunds Republican Vermont1872–1879 Allen G. Thurman Democratic Ohio1879–1881 George F. Edmunds Republican Vermont1881–1891 George Frisbie Hoar Republican Massachusetts1891–1893 James L. Pugh Democratic Alabama1893–1895 George Frisbie Hoar Republican Massachusetts1895–1904 Orville H. Platt Republican Connecticut1904-1905 Clarence D. Clark Republican Wyoming1905-1912 Charles Allen Culberson Democratic Texas1912-1919 Knute Nelson Republican Minnesota1919–1923 Frank B. Brandegee Republican Connecticut1923–1924 Albert B. Cummins Republican Iowa1924–1926 George William Norris Republican Nebraska1926–1933 Henry F. Ashurst Democratic Arizona1933–1941 Frederick Van Nuys Democratic Indiana1941–1945 Pat McCarran Democratic Nevada1945–1947 Alexander Wiley Republican Wisconsin1947–1949 Pat McCarran Democratic Nevada1949–1953 William Langer Republican North Dakota1953–1955 Harley M. Kilgore Democratic West Virginia1955–1956 James Eastland Democratic Mississippi1956–1978 Edward M. Kennedy Democratic Massachusetts1978–1981 Strom Thurmond Republican South Carolina1981–1987 Joseph R. Biden, Jr.Democratic Delaware1987–1995 Orrin Hatch Republican Utah1995–2001 Patrick Leahy [1]Democratic Vermont2001 Orrin Hatch Republican Utah2001 Patrick Leahy [2]Democratic Vermont2001–2003 Orrin Hatch Republican Utah2003-2005 Arlen Specter Republican Pennsylvania2005-2007 Patrick Leahy Democratic Vermont2007–present

^ When the Senate convened in January 2001 17 days before President George W. Bush was inaugurated, there was a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans with Vice President Al Gore as a tiebreaking vote.
^ In June 2001, Republican Jim Jeffords declared himself an Independent and caucused with the Democrats, giving the Democrats majority control.