U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
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The U.S. 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 (or lack thereof) 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, along with the Finance and Foreign Relations committees, is among the oldest in the Senate, having been initially created in 1816.
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Members
The Committee is chaired by Republican Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania. The Democratic ranking member is Patrick Leahy from Vermont. The members of the Committee are:
- Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania), chairman
- Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
- Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)
- Jon Kyl (R-Arizona)
- Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
- Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
- Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)
- John Cornyn (R-Texas)
- Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)
- Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)
- Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), ranking minority member
- Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
- Joe Biden (D-Delaware)
- Herbert Kohl (D-Wisconsin)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
- Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
- Charles Schumer (D-New York)
- Richard Durbin (D-Illinois)
Subcommittees
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
- Chairman: Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama
- Ranking Member: Charles Schumer, D-New York
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
- Chairman: Mike DeWine, Republican-Ohio
- Ranking Member: Herb Kohl, Democrat-Wisconsin
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
- Chairman: John Cornyn, Republican-Texas
- Ranking Member: Russell Feingold, Democrat-Wisconsin
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Corrections and Victims' Rights
- Chairman: Lindsey Graham, Republican-South Carolina
- Ranking Member: Joseph Biden, Democrat-Delaware
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship
- Chairman: Saxby Chambliss, Republican-Georgia
- Ranking Member: Edward Kennedy, Democrat-Massachusetts
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
- Chairman: Jon Kyl, Republican-Arizona
- Ranking Member: Dianne Feinstein, Democrat-California
Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, 1816-present
- Dudley Chase (R-VT) 1816-1817
- John J. Crittenden (R-KY) 1817-1818
- James Burrill, Jr. (F-RI) 1818-1819
- William Smith (R-SC) 1819-1823
- Martin Van Buren (R/D-NY) 1823-1828
- John Macpherson Berrien (D-GA) 1828-1829
- John Rowan (D-KY) 1829-1831
- William L. Marcy (D-NY) 1831-1832
- William Wilkins (D-PA) 1832-1833
- John M. Clayton (W-DE) 1833-1836
- Felix Grundy (D-TN) 1836-1838
- Garret D. Wall (D-NJ) 1838-1841
- John Macpherson Berrien (W-GA) 1841-1845
- Chester Ashley (D-AR) 1845-1847
- Andrew P. Butler (D-SC) 1847-1857
- James Bayard, Jr. (D-DE) 1857-1861
- Lyman Trumbull (R-IL) 1861-1872
- George F. Edmunds (R-VT) 1872-1879
- Allen G. Thurman (D-OH) 1879-1881
- George F. Edmunds (R-VT) 1881-1891
- George F. Hoar (R-MA) 1891-1893
- James Pugh (D-AL) 1893-1895
- George F. Hoar (R-MA) 1895-1904
- Orville Platt (R-CT) 1904-1905
- Clarence D. Clark (R-WY) 1905-1912
- Charles A. Culberson (D-TX) 1912-1919
- Knute Nelson (R-MN) 1919-1923
- Frank B. Brandegee (R-CT) 1923-1924
- Albert B. Cummins (R-IA) 1924-1926
- George W. Norris (R-NE) 1926-1933
- Henry F. Ashurst (D-AZ) 1933-1941
- Frederick Van Nuys (D-IN) 1941-1945
- Pat McCarran (D-NV) 1945-1947
- Alexander Wiley (R-WI) 1947-1949
- Pat McCarran (D-NV) 1949-1953
- William Langer (R-ND) 1953-1955
- Harley M. Kilgore (D-WV) 1955-1956
- James O. Eastland (D-MS) 1956-1978
- Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) 1978-1981
- Strom Thurmond (R-SC) 1981-1987
- Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) 1987-1995
- Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) 1995-2001
- Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) 2001
- Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) 2001
- Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) 2001-2003
- Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) 2003-2005
- Arlen Specter (R-PA) 2005-present
External link
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Official Website (http://judiciary.senate.gov/)