Senate Judiciary Committee

(noun)

A standing committee of the US Senate, the 18-member committee is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) nominated by the President.

Related Terms

Examples of Senate Judiciary Committee in the following topics:

  • The Confirmation Process

    • To be appointed as a federal judge, nominees must be confirmed by the Senate after being interviewed by a Committee.
    • During this process, a committee called the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings, questioning nominees to determine their suitability.
    • The Senate Judiciary Committee personally interviews nominees, a practice that is relatively recent and began in 1925.
    • Once the Committee reports out the nomination, the whole Senate considers it.
    • Before 1925, nominees were never questioned; after 1955, every nominee has been required to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee and answer questions.

  • Senate Confirmation

    • Senate confirmation is required for certain presidential appointments stated under the Constitution.
    • These positions are referred to as Presidential Appointment with Senate confirmation (PAS).
    • United States Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
    • In theory, this procedure allows both the executive and legislative branches to have some power over the judiciary and thus check the judicial branch's power.
    • Here, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005.

  • Battles in the Courts and Congress

    • Wade decision on that legalized abortion and supported the federal Equal Rights Amendment, Senate Republicans and the vast majority of Americans approved the pick, and she was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.
    • Within 45 minutes of Bork's nomination to the Court, Democrat Ted Kennedy took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of Bork in a nationally televised speech, declaring:
    • In some cases, the nominations were not processed by the Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee before Reagan's presidency ended, while in other cases, nominees were rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee or even blocked by unfriendly members of the Republican Party.Both his Supreme Court nominations and his lower court appointments were in line with Reagan's expressed philosophy that judges should interpret law as enacted and not "legislate from the bench".
    • Within 45 minutes of Bork's nomination to the Court, Ted Kennedy (D-MA) took to the Senate floor with a strong condemnation of Bork in a nationally televised speech.

  • The Nomination Process

    • The president nominates judges to the nation's highest judiciary authority (Supreme Court), but Congress must approve those nominees.
    • Senate.
    • Senate is in recess.
    • Nominations go to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which usually holds hearings.
    • The next step for the Judiciary Committee is to vote on whether or not to send the nomination to the Senate floor.

  • Advice and Consent

    • Advice and consent is a power of the Senate to be consulted on and approve treaties signed by the president.
    • The actual motion adopted by the Senate when exercising the power is "to advise and consent," which shows how initial advice on nominations and treaties is not a formal power exercised by the Senate.
    • For appointments, a majority of senators are needed to pass a motion "to advise and consent", but unless the appointment has the support of three-fifths of senators, a filibuster blocking the passage of the motion is possible.
    • The actual motion adopted by the Senate when exercising the power is "to advise and consent," which shows how initial advice on nominations and treaties is not a formal power exercised by the Senate.
    • Here, the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 2005.

  • The Cabinet

    • The Secretary of State designate is reviewed and presented to the full Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
    • All Cabinet members are nominated by the President and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority.
    • The Secretary of State designate is reviewed and presented to the full Senate by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
    • The Secretary of the Treasury is reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee.
    •  The confirmation of the office of Attorney General is overseen by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

  • The Impeachment of Bill Clinton

    • Clinton was acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999.
    • With a two-thirds majority required for conviction (i.e., 67 out of 100 senators), only 45 senators voted guilty on the perjury charge and 50 on the obstruction charge.
    • The voting in the House and Senate was largely partisan: in the House, only five Democratic Representatives voted to impeach, while in the Senate, which had 55 Republican Senators, none of the Democratic Senators voted for conviction.
    • Since Starr had already completed an extensive investigation, the House Judiciary Committee conducted no investigations of its own into Clinton's alleged wrongdoing.
    • Senate during the 1998 impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, who was narrowly acquitted of both charges.

  • Debate over the Presidency and the Judiciary

    • A compromise was eventually reached that the president should pick judges and the Senate confirm them.
    • The Committee of Detail was a committee established by the United States Constitutional Convention on June 23, 1787 to put down a draft text reflecting the agreements made by the convention up to that point, including the Virginia Plan's 15 resolutions.
    • The committee shortened the president's term from seven years to four years, freed the president to seek re-election after an initial term, and moved impeachment trials from the courts to the Senate.
    • The committee transferred important powers from the Senate to the president who now, for example, would be given the power to make treaties and appoint ambassadors.
    • James Madison authored the Virginia Plan, which contained important provisions on the presidency and judiciary.

  • The Committee System

    • The House has twenty standing committees; the Senate has sixteen.
    • By 1906, the Senate maintained 66 standing and select committees—eight more committees than members of the majority party.
    • By May 27, 1920, the Russell Senate Office Building had opened, and with all Senate members assigned private office space, the Senate quietly abolished 42 committees.
    • Today the Senate operates with 20 standing and select committees.
    • These select committees, however, are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.

  • The Staff System

    • Every Representative hired 14 staff members, while the average Senator hired 34.
    • Representatives had a limit of 18 full-time and four part-time staffers, while Senators had no limit on staff.
    • Majority and minority members hire their own staff, with the exception of two committees in each house: the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the House, and the Select Committee on Ethics and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the Senate.
    • In 2000, House committees had an average of 68 staff, and Senate committees an average of 46.
    • The Russell Senate Office Building houses several Congressional staff members, including those on the United States Senate Committees on Armed Services, Rules and Administration, Veterans' Affairs, and others.