UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

(Redirected from Senate Judiciary Committee)

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.
==Members, 110th Congress==
The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patrick Leahy from Vermont. The Ranking Minority Member is Republican Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania.

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

Contents

Subcommittees

Chairmen since 1816

External link

See also

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking member
Administrative Oversight and the Courts	Chuck Schumer	Jeff Sessions
Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights	Herbert Kohl	Orrin Hatch
The Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights	Russ Feingold	Sam Brownback
Human Rights and the Law	Richard Durbin	Tom Coburn
Crime and Drugs	Joe Biden	Lindsey Graham
Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship	Ted Kennedy	John Cornyn
Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security	Dianne Feinstein	Jon Kyl

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 L. 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	2001-2003
Orrin G. Hatch	R	UT	2003-2005
Arlen Specter	R	PA	2005-2006
Patrick J. Leahy	D	VT	2007-present

External link

★ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Official Website

See also

★ Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination