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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 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.
Members, 109th Congress
The Committee is chaired by Republican Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania. The Ranking Minority Member is Democrat Patrick Leahy from Vermont.
| Republicans | Democrats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | State | Member | State | Arlen Specter, Chairman | Pennsylvania | Patrick Leahy, Ranking Minority Member | Vermont | Orrin Hatch | Utah | Ted Kennedy | Massachusetts | Charles Grassley | Iowa | Joe Biden | Delaware | Jon Kyl | Arizona | Herb Kohl | Wisconsin | Mike DeWine | Ohio | Dianne Feinstein | California | Jeff Sessions | Alabama | Russ Feingold | Wisconsin | Lindsey Graham | South Carolina | Chuck Schumer | New York | John Cornyn | Texas | Richard Durbin | Illinois | Sam Brownback | Kansas | ||||||||||
| Tom Coburn | Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subcommittees
- Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
- Chairman: Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama
- Ranking Member: Chuck Schumer, D-New York
- Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
- Chairman: Mike DeWine, R-Ohio
- Ranking Member: Herbert Kohl, D-Wisconsin
- Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
- Chairman: Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
- Ranking Member: Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin
- Subcommittee on Corrections and Rehabilitation
- Chairman: Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma
- Ranking Member: Richard Durbin, D-Illinois
- Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
- Chairman: Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina
- Ranking Member: Joe Biden, D-Delaware
- Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship
- Chairman: John Cornyn, R-Texas
- Ranking Member: Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts
- Subcommittee on Intellectual Property
- Chairman: Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
- Ranking Member: Pat Leahy, D-Vermont
- Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
- Chairman: Jon Kyl, R-Arizona
- Ranking Member: Dianne Feinstein, D-California
Chairmen since 1816
| Name | Party | State | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
See also
"United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary"