Chuck is a member of the Judiciary Committee and Chairman of the Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee. One of the Senate's original standing committees, the Committee on the Judiciary was first authorized on December 10, 1816. Its wide-ranging areas of jurisdiction include:

• Federal courts and judges.
• Immigration and naturalization.
• Bankruptcy.
• Patents and copyrights.
• Mutiny, espionage, and counterfeiting.
• Constitutional amendments.
• Antitrust enforcement.
  

The federal courts are one of the most important and controversial branches of the government. As a member of the Judiciary Committee and as Chairman of the Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee, Chuck has worked to bring openness, honesty, and efficiency to the system:


• Honest Confirmations: Chuck has also used his position as Ranking Member of the Courts Subcommittee to call for an end to "gotcha" tactics in judicial confirmation battles, suggesting instead that Senators return to the tradition of openly discussing questions of judicial philosophy, as was the case with previous nominees to the Supreme Court and other federal benches. He continues to push for the appointment of judges who meet his three requirements: legal excellence, moderation and diversity.


• Preserving the Right to Filibuster: Chuck fought the efforts that would rewrite Senate rules to ban the use of the filibuster because he believes the Founding Fathers never intended any automatic right to consent, majority or otherwise, and that the Senate is not a “rubber stamp” when it comes to judicial and executive nominees.


• Televised Trials: Chuck believes that transparency in our courts is integral to an efficient justice system. He introduced a bipartisan bill—the Sunshine in the Courtrooms Act of 2005—to allow television cameras in federal trials, so that people can see a fair process at work, regardless of whether or not they agree with the final outcome. He testified in support of this bill at a November 9, 2005 Judiciary Committee hearing.

• Telecommunications: Chuck is committed to protecting consumers from unfair business practices on the part of the wireless industry. A Schumer Study showed that New York City cell phone users pay over $82 million per year in unadvertised fees. In response to this and other unfair business practices on the part of the wireless industry, Chuck introduced a Cell Phone Users Bill of Rights and pressed the FCC to call for wireless number portability, which allows consumers to take their cell phone numbers with them when they switch carriers.

• Unsolicited Phone Calls and E-mails: Chuck spearheaded the creation of a “No-Spam” registry by including its provisions in the CAN SPAM Act, the legislation that created fines and penalties for repeat spammers.

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