Senate Judiciary Committee

Latest News

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 Senate votes on whether to confirm or not confirm prospective federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) nominated by the president. 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. Additionally, it is Senate procedure that all proposed Constitutional Amendments pass through the Judiciary Committee.

The committee, along with the Committee on Finance and Committee on Foreign Relations committees, is one of the oldest in the Senate. It was initially created in 1816.

The Committee is chaired by Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont. Following Arlen Specter's move to the Democratic party, the Ranking Member is Jeff Sessions for the duration of the 111th Congress, after which time Chuck Grassley will assume that role.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Senate Judiciary Committee." | Wiki History
Federer ends year at No. 1 (39 min)
Florida, Alabama again 1-2 in BCS poll (59 min)
UPI Thoroughbred Racing Roundup
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
NHL: San Jose 4, Vancouver 2
Modest Atlantic hurricane season ends
fark
Rockville Police shoot Jesus. Awwwwwkwaaaaaard
Store apologizes for suggesting that men should make their wives "feel special this Christmas" by...
"She wanted to get rid of a World War II hand grenade a relative had given her on Thanksgiving"
That sound you just heard was Mike Huckabee's political career going down in flames
Two dogs in Beijing diagnosed with swine flu, will be treated with soy sauce
Austrian government moves to ban Santa Claus, saying he is a foreign invader who threatens the racial...