FAQ

There are currently 22 members of the Judiciary Committee, 12 members of the majority party, and 10 members of the minority party. The ratio of majority to minority members on the Committee is based on the ratio of majority to minority members of the Senate. To read biographies of the current members of the Judiciary Committee, click here.

There are six Judiciary Committee Subcommittees: Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights; Border Security and Immigration; The Constitution; Crime and Terrorism; Intellectual Property; Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts. For more about subcommittee members and jurisdiction, click here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's main office is located in room 224 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The Senate Judiciary Committee can be reached at (202)224-5225.

For news media inquiries, contact information for Committee members is available here.

Applications for internships and clerkships on the Judiciary Committee are considered through Members' personal offices. For information on how to contact Members' offices, click here.

No flash photography is permitted in the hearing room, however non-flash photography is permitted. Only accredited members of the press are permitted to sit in front of the dais to take photographs. Similarly, only credentialed members of the press are permitted to use video recorders in the hearing room. Members of the press should contact the Senate Daily Press Gallery or the Senate Radio-Television Gallery in advance of attending a hearing.

All Committee hearings, including business meetings, are webcast live online. Visit the hearing calendar for information about upcoming and past hearings, and to access archived webcasts. Links to webcasts appear two hours before hearings begin, and video begins streaming live once the hearing is called to order. Webcast archives are accessible within 24 hours of scheduled hearings. For a complete archive of Judiciary Committee webcasts, click here.

Two frequent documents requested of the Judiciary Committee are hearing transcripts and Committee reports. Once a hearing transcript or a Committee report has been published, it is available online through the Government Printing Office. Transcripts: Transcripts are comprised of member statements, witness testimony, the hearing question and answer period, and responses to questions submitted for the record to witnesses. Because witnesses are often asked to answer questions for the record in the days and weeks following hearings, it can sometimes take several months for hearing transcripts to be published. Committee Reports: Committee reports are filed with legislation that is reported by the Judiciary Committee during executive business meetings. Reports analyze proposed legislation, and often times outline legislative history and the Committee's actions related to the proposed legislation. They are useful in understanding the Committee's debate about the legislation. To see Committee reports that have already been printed, click  here.

Hundreds of bills and resolutions are referred to the Judiciary Committee each Congress. The text and status of all legislation and resolutions is available online through Thomas, a legislative search engine operated by the Library of Congress. Thomas also provides links to Committee Reports filed in conjunction with reported legislation.

The power to advise the President and consent to his or her nominations lies with the Senate. The Judiciary Committee considers two kinds of nominations: executive nominations and judicial nominations. The Judiciary Committee is responsible for conducting hearings and reporting for full Senate consideration nominations to executive positions at the Department of Justice and all executive agencies that fall under the Justice Department's jurisdiction, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as agencies affiliated with the federal judiciary. These nominations also include those of presidential nominees to fill U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshall positions across the country. The Judiciary Committee also considers nominations to fill the 870 federal judgeships across the country. These include district and appellate judgeships, as well as seats on the U.S. Supreme Court. For information about nominations reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee this Congress, click here. To learn more about the federal judiciary, visit the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Presidential nominations sent to the Senate for consideration must first be reported by the Committee to which they are referred. Some nominations, including judicial nominations, require nominees to complete a Committee questionnaire in which nominees are asked to list previous professional experience. In the case of judicial nominations, an evaluation from the American Bar Association is needed before the Judiciary Committee will schedule a hearing to consider the nomination. Following a Committee hearing where nominees respond to questions from members of the Committee, nominations are listed for Committee consideration during executive business meetings. The full Senate considers the nomination if the Committee orders the nomination to be reported to the body.

The Judiciary Committee frequently convenes executive business meetings, or markups, to consider pending legislation that has been referred to the Committee. Once the Committee orders pending legislation or nominations to be reported, the measures are placed on the Senate's Executive Calendar where it will await action by the full Senate. To find the status of pending legislation, visit the Library of Congress's legislative search page, Thomas. For a calendar of executive business meetings, click here.