Sonia Sotomayor on first day of confirmation hearings

The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

nominations, and review pending legislation. In addition, the

Standing Rules of the Senate The Standing Rules of the Senate are the parliamentary procedures adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section5 of the United States Constitution: "Each ...

confer jurisdiction to the Senate Judiciary Committee in certain areas, such as considering proposed constitutional amendments and legislation related to federal criminal law,

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

antitrust law Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

, and

internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storage, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and display of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. P ...

History

Established in 1816 as one of the original standing committees in the United States Senate, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is one of the oldest and most influential committees in Congress. Its broad legislative jurisdiction has assured its primary role as a forum for the public discussion of social and constitutional issues. The committee is also responsible for oversight of key activities of the executive branch, and is responsible for the initial stages of the confirmation process of all judicial nominations for the federal judiciary.

Nominations

The committee considers presidential nominations for positions in the DOJ—including the

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and the Director of the FBI—, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the

State Justice Institute The State Justice Institute (SJI) was established by federal law in 1984 to award grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts, and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common issues faced by all courts. SJI awards grants to impro ...

, and certain positions in the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business ...

and DHS. It is also in charge of holding hearings and investigating judicial nominations to the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, the U.S. court of appeals, the U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade. If a majority on the committee votes to advance a nomination, the nominee is reported favorably to the whole Senate, which can vote by simple majority to confirm the nominee.

Oversight

The Judiciary Committee's oversight of the DOJ includes all of the agencies under the DOJ's jurisdiction, such as the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

. It also has oversight of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

(DHS).

Members, 119th Congress

;(January 3, 2025 – January 3, 2027) ;

Subcommittees

Chairs since 1816

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

;(January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025) ; Subcommittees

117th Congress

;(January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023) Subcommittees

116th Congress

;(January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021) ;Subcommittees

115th Congress

;(January 3, 2017 – January 3, 2019) In January 2018, the Democratic minority had their number of seats increase from 9 to 10 upon the election of Doug Jones (D-AL), changing the 52–48 Republican majority to 51–49. On January 2, 2018,

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...

, who had been a member of the committee, resigned from the Senate following accusations of sexual misconduct. ;Subcommittees

114th Congress

;(January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2017) ;Subcommittees

113th Congress

;(January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015) ;Subcommittees

112th Congress

;(January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013) ;Subcommittees

111th Congress

;(January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011) ;Subcommittees

References

External links

United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Official WebsiteArchive

Senate Judiciary Committee
Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov. {{United States congressional committees

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

Law of the United States 1816 establishments in Washington, D.C. Parliamentary committees on Justice