Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy 
Is Moving Quickly To Schedule Hearings For 
And Confirm Judicial Nominees 
Despite Extraordinary Times

Confirmations Under Chairman Leahy Have Been Faster Than in Other First Years

Fair comparisons show that by November 14 of the first year of Clinton’s Administration, the Senate had only confirmed eight judges, 10 fewer than by the same time this year. By November 14 of the first year of the first Bush Administration, 10 judges had been confirmed – eight fewer than 2001. This year, in the fewer than four months since the reorganization of the Senate, more than twice as many judges have been confirmed as during the first nine months of the Clinton Administration and nearly twice as many as the first Bush Administration.

This, despite the fact that 2001 has been anything but a typical year in the first term of a new administration. The Senate this year changed hands three times, Republicans delayed action on the Senate organizing resolution for a month, the White House ended the 50-year-old practice of working with the American Bar Association to complete peer-review vetting of candidates BEFORE they were nominated, and the result has been to move the time for these reviews from the White House’s clock to the Senate’s. Also, since Democrats took charge of the committee this summer, two major high-priority projects have added to the committee’s workload: confirmation hearings in July for a new FBI director, and, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, five weeks spent by the committee in nonstop work on the anti-terrorism bill. In addition, the anthrax attacks continue to cause logistical disruptions for Senators and staff.

Chairman Leahy and the Senate have been ahead of the confirmation pace for judicial nominations for the first year of the Bush Administration and the first year of the Clinton Administration. Since July of this year the Senate has already confirmed five Court of Appeals judges. In 1993, only three Court of Appeals judges were confirmed all year. In 1989, five Court of Appeals judges were confirmed all year. More recently, a Republican-controlled Committee confirmed no Court fo Appeals nominees in the entire 1996 session.

Chairman Leahy has already held nine hearings involving judicial nominees since July 10, including two in July, two unprecedented hearings during the August recess, a hearing in September in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack, a hearing on October 4, two more on October 18 and 25, during the time that the Committee was dislocated from its offices by the anthrax attack, and another on November 7.

By contrast, in the six and one-half years the Republicans chaired the Judiciary Committee from 1995-2001, in 34 of those months they held no confirmation hearings for judicial nominations, in 30 of the rest of those months they held a single confirmation hearing and only in 12 of the remaining months did they hold at least two hearings involving judicial nominees.

Since Democrats took charge this summer the Judiciary Committee has held nine hearings so far. During the entire first year of the Clinton Administration, the Judiciary Committee held only six hearings. During the entire first year of the first Bush Administration, the Committee held only seven hearings.

The average time between nomination and confirmation for Court of Appeals judges this year has been about 105 days, which includes the delay in the reorganization of the Senate and the wait for ABA peer reviews, which cannot now begin until after the nomination. The average length of time between nomination and confirmation of those Circuit Court nominees who were approved during President Clinton’s most recent term, under Republican control, was 343 days. Accordingly, even with all of the delays caused by Republicans, this Senate is acting on Court of Appeals nominees, on average, eight months faster than the Republican Senate acted on Clinton nominees during last four years– when they acted at all.

If we were to measure the time from the ABA review (i.e., when the nominee’ s file before the Committee is actually complete), the 18 judges confirmed this year have averaged fewer than 60 days from the point to confirmation. This compares to the average of over 200 days it took to confirm judges over the past several years.

Republican Complaints on Vacancies are Disingenuous and Unfair

• More than half, 56 percent, of President Clinton's Court of Appeals nominees in 1999 and 2000 were not confirmed.

• More than one-fifth of President Clinton's judicial nominees, 65, never got a Committee hearing and Committee vote from the Republican majority.

• Those leading the Republicans’ criticisms include some who were particularly responsible for the Republican slowdown in the last six years and for the Senate’s failure to act on several nominees, yet these critics have not acknowledged their role.

• Chairman Leahy and the Democratic Senate are ahead of the pace of the Republican Senate and are doing better than their Republican predecessors.