For other versions of this document, see http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RL33839 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Order Code RL33839 Returns and Resubmissions of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals and District Courts, 1977-2006 January 26, 2007 Kevin M. Scott Analyst in American National Government Government and Finance Division Returns and Resubmissions of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals and District Courts, 1977-2006 Summary This report provides basic data on all nominees to the courts of appeals and district courts whose nominations have been resubmitted from 1977 through 2006. During this period, the Senate returned to the President 243 nominations to the district courts and 145 nominations to the courts of appeals. The 107th Congress had the most returns (71) since 1977, followed by the 102nd Congress (55 returns) and the 109th Congress (50 returns). Between 1977 and 2006, 16.9% of district court nominations were returned; 31.5% of courts of appeals nominations were returned to the President in the same time frame. The President resubmitted the nominations of 197 individuals to the Senate between 1977 and 2006. Thirty-two of those 197 individuals were renominated by a President different from the President who originally nominated them. Eleven of those 32 individuals (10 to district courts, one to the courts of appeals) were nominated by a President whose party was different from the original nominating President's. Of 288 individuals nominated to the courts of appeals only one time between 1977 and 2006, 249 (86.5%) were confirmed; 48 of the 70 (68.6%) courts of appeals nominees nominated more than once were confirmed. Of 1,174 individuals nominated to the district courts only once between 1977 and 2006, 1,059 (90.2%) were confirmed; 112 of 127 (88.2%) of district court nominees who were nominated more than once were confirmed. The data used throughout the report come from the Congressional Research Service Judicial Nominations Database, built using data from the Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate and supplemented by the Legislative Information Service (LIS) database. The resubmission tables may be used to complement CRS Report RL31868, U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations by President George W. Bush During the 107th - 109th Congresses, by Denis Steven Rutkus, Kevin M. Scott, and Maureen Bearden; and CRS Report RL31635, Judicial Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit Courts, 1977-2003, by Denis Steven Rutkus and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Resubmissions and Confirmation of Judicial Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Returned Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Patterns in Returned Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possible Explanations for Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Patterns in Renominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Beyond the Second Nomination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Senate Judiciary Committee Practice with Resubmitted Nominations . . . . 13 Renominated Courts of Appeals Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Resubmitted District Court Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Resubmissions and Confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Concluding Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 List of Figures Figure 1. Returns of Judicial Nominations, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Figure 2. Renominations to U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals by Congress, 1977-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 List of Tables Table 1. Number of Returned U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominations, by Congress, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . 4 Table 2. Number of Returned U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominations, by Period in Which Nominations Were Submitted, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Table 3. Percentage of Nominations to U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals Made in the Last Six Months of a Congress and Percentage of Those Nominations Returned, by President, 1977-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Table 4. Number of U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Renominations, by President and Congress, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Table 5. Nomination Frequency for U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees, 1977-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Table 6. Renominated Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 1977-2006: Number Receiving Hearings on the First or Second Nominations . . . . . . . 14 Table 7. Renominated Nominees to the U.S. District Courts, 1977 - 2006: Number Receiving Hearings on the First or Second Nominations . . . . . . . 16 Table 8. U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees: Renominations and Confirmation Rate, by Renomination, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Appendix 1. U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees with Resubmitted Nominations, 95th Congress - 109th Congress (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Appendix 2. U.S. District Courts Nominees with Resubmitted Nominations, 95th Congress - 109th Congress (1977-2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Returns and Resubmissions of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals and District Courts, 1977-2006 Introduction Over the past 30 years, the average time between presidential nomination and confirmation for persons nominated by the President to lower court judgeships (i.e., the U.S. courts of appeals and district courts) has increased steadily. Scholars and other observers have argued that several factors have contributed to this change.1 One component of the increase in time to confirmation has been an increase in the number of Senate returns of judicial nominations to the President. All nominations, including judicial nominations, considered by the Senate can be returned to the President in two cases: after the adjournment sine die of a Congress or during a recess of 30 or more days if the Senate has not agreed by unanimous consent to carry nominations through the recess. The President usually renominates the person whose nomination was returned. This report provides an overview of renominations that occur in the context of the process of appointing judges to what may amount to life tenure positions on the U.S. courts of appeals and district courts. The report then provides data on the number of returned and resubmitted nominations between 1977 and 2006, covering the terms of Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and the first three Congresses of President George W. Bush. This report first reviews the nomination process, assessing how renominations fit into that process. The report then summarizes trends in renominations between 1977 and 2006, with particular attention to the Senate Judiciary Committee's practice of holding or not holding hearings for renominated individuals. Finally, the report analyzes the confirmation rates of renominated individuals compared with those who are nominated only one time. Throughout this report, attention will be called to the unique experience of the 107th Congress, where majority control of the Senate shifted during the first session. One of the consequences of that shift was the return of all of President Bush's pending judicial nominees at the beginning of an intrasession recess in August 2001. One of the central considerations in this report is the difference between nominees and nominations; each nominee to a judgeship may receive several nominations 1 These factors include increased incidence of divided partisan control of the Senate and the presidency, increased disagreement among Senators over nominees, and rising attention to judicial nominations by interest groups. See, e.g., Nancy Scherer, Scoring Points: Politicians, Activists, and the Lower Federal Court Appointment Process (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005); and Sarah A. Binder and Forest Maltzman, "Senatorial Delay in Confirming Federal Court Judges, 1947-1998," American Journal of Political Science, vol. 46, no. 1 (January 2002). CRS-2 before being confirmed or rejected by the Senate, or having his or her name withdrawn by the President or returned to the President without renomination. Resubmissions and Confirmation of Judicial Nominees The constitutional provisions governing appointment and confirmation of federal judges are straightforward. According to Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the President shall "nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law." When the Senate has consented to a nomination, it has done so in the form of a vote on the President's nominee.2 This procedure applies to Article III judges as well as Article I judges.3 Senate consideration of a nominee is driven by Senate rules. One such rule, Rule XXXI, provides, in part, that nominations pending before the Senate shall be returned to the President if the Senate adjourns or takes a recess of more than 30 days. The rule may be set aside if the Senate agrees to do so by unanimous consent, but failure to waive the rule (usually by a Senator objecting to a proposed unanimous consent agreement) returns pending nominations to the President when the Senate takes a recess.4 The Senate's August recess tends to last longer than 30 days,5 and the recess between sessions of a Congress may also last more than 30 days. In addition to returns that may occur during a recess of the Senate, nominations are returned to the President if a nominee has not been confirmed or rejected by the 2 In the First Congress, there was some dispute as to how the Senate was to carry out its constitutional function. The Senate agreed at that time to do so by voice vote. See Joseph Harris, The Advice and Consent of the Senate: A Study of Confirmation of Appointments by the United States Senate (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988), pp. 37-39. 3 Article III, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution established the Supreme Court and "such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." Appointees to these courts hold their offices during "good Behaviour," and their compensation may not be diminished while they hold their office. Judges on Article I courts, also called legislative courts, are appointed by the President, are confirmed by the Senate, and serve for a fixed term. The territorial and commonwealth courts, as well as the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the U.S. Tax Court, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Court of Federal Claims are all Article I courts. In this report, judges nominated to the territorial and commonwealth courts are included in statistical calculations; those nominated to the other Article I courts are not included in statistical calculations. 4 Senators have usually exempted from unanimous consent one or more pending nominations, and have only rarely insisted on the return of all pending nominations. See CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by Elizabeth Rybicki. 5 The Senate's August recess has lasted at least 30 days every year since 1996. Between 1977 and 1995, nine August recesses lasted fewer than 30 days. In no Congress since 1977 has the Senate gone without at least one 30-day recess, either during a session or between sessions. Dates of Senate sessions are available at [http://senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/congresses2.pdf]. CRS-3 Senate or withdrawn by the President by the end of a Congress. Presidents may resubmit nominations on which the Senate did not take action in a previous Congress.6 Resubmissions are important to understanding how long judicial nominees wait for Senate confirmation. One might consider the example of Priscilla R. Owen, nominated to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush. Judge Owen was confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 2005, on a nomination submitted to the Senate on February 14, 2005, a period of 100 days from nomination to confirmation. As Appendix 1 indicates, however, Judge Owen was first nominated to the Fifth Circuit on May 1, 2001, and her confirmation, after she was nominated a fourth time, did not come until 1,477 days after her original nomination. The three earlier nominations of Judge Owen were each returned by the Senate, during the August recess in 2001 and at the end of both the 107th and 108th Congresses, respectively. Resubmissions are also relevant to a President's success rate on judicial confirmations. To take a recent example, President Clinton made 105 nominations to the circuit courts of appeals, 65 of which were confirmed. One might conclude, then, that 62% of President Clinton's courts of appeals nominations were successful. However, President Clinton nominated 90 individuals to the courts of appeals, of whom 65 were confirmed, a confirmation success rate of 72%.7 In any Administration, if one calculates the percentage of confirmations using the number of nominations as the denominator, one will likely calculate a lower success rate than if one uses the number of nominees as the denominator. Returned Nominations Patterns in Returned Nominations. Table 1 outlines how many nominations were returned by Congress between 1977 and 2006. The columns in the table indicate, for each Congress, the number of nominations that were returned within a session (intrasession returns), between sessions (intersession returns), and at the end of a Congress. One nominee can have nominations returned more than once in a given Congress. 6 The President may also renominate individuals whose nominations were rejected or withdrawn, though this was not done with a nomination to the U.S. district courts or courts of appeals in the time frame covered by this report. In 1844, President Tyler renominated John C. Spencer to the Supreme Court after his nomination had been rejected by the Senate. The second Spencer nomination was withdrawn by President Tyler on the same day it was made. See CRS Report RL33225, Supreme Court Nominations, 1789-2006: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President, by Denis Steven Rutkus and Maureen Bearden. 7 Roger L. Gregory, originally nominated to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Clinton, was confirmed once he was nominated by President George W. Bush. As a result, he is considered one of President Clinton's 25 unsuccessful nominees. See Appendix 1. CRS-4 Table 1. Number of Returned U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominations, by Congress, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) Intrasessiona Intersessionb End of Congress Total Congress Years District Appeals District Appeals District Appeals District Appeals 95th 1977-1978 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 0 96th 1979-1980 0 0 0 0 13 4 13 4 97th 1981-1982 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 98th 1983-1984 3 2 1 2 13 3 17 7 99th 1985-1986 0 0 8 1 3 0 11 1 100th 1987-1988 0 0 0 0 10 7 10 7 101st 1989-1990 2 0 0 0 2 1 4 1 102nd 1991-1992 1 1 0 0 43 10 44 11 103rd 1993-1994 0 0 0 0 11 3 11 3 104th 1995-1996 0 0 0 0 20 8 20 8 105th 1997-1998 0 0 0 0 12 9 12 9 106th 1999-2000 0 1 0 0 24 17 24 18 107th 2001-2002 20 20 0 0 16 15 36 35 108th 2003-2004 0 0 0 1 8 17c 8 18 109th 2005-2006 0 11d 0 1 28 10 28 22 Total 26 35 12 5 205 105 243 145 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. Cell entries include district judges nominated to district courts in Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Virgin Islands. Sixteen nominations to these Article I courts are included, of which four were returned (one intrasession return during the 101st Congress, one return at the end of each of the 96th, 100th, and 102nd Congresses). Fourteen nominations to seats on the Court of International Trade are also included, two of which were returned: one at the end of the 105th Congress, the other at the end of the 107th Congress. a. Intrasession returns are those made during recesses within sessions of a Congress. b. Intersession returns are those made during recesses between sessions of a Congress. c. Charles W. Pickering, Sr., and William H. Pryor, Jr., are counted twice, because both had two nominations pending in the 108th Congress. d. William J. Haynes II, Terrence W. Boyle, Michael B. Wallace, N. Randy Smith, and William G. Myers III, are counted twice each in this cell. All five had nominations returned to the President on Aug. 3, 2006, and again on Sept. 29, 2006. All five were also returned to the President at the end of the 109th Congress. CRS-5 Several patterns emerge from Table 1. First, the overwhelming majority of returns of nominations occur at the end of a Congress. Intrasession and intersession returns are less common. If one excludes the 107th Congress for reasons discussed below, 38 nominations have been returned during a Congress since 1977, compared with 310 returned at the end of a Congress. Second, the four Congresses during which the Senate returned the most nominations were the 102nd (55 nominations returned), the 106th (42), the 107th Congress (71), and the 109th Congress (50). Forty of the 71 returns in the 107th Congress occurred during the August recess following a transfer in party control of the Senate. The 102nd and 106th Congresses represent the final Congresses coinciding with the presidencies of George H.W. Bush and William Clinton, respectively. One might interpret these numbers as suggesting that the Senate, when controlled by the opposite party of the President, may attempt to wait out a President whose party the opposition hopes to see end its run in the White House. But the evidence to support such a conclusion is mixed. The number of returns in the 104th and 108th Congresses (the end of the first terms of President Clinton and President George W. Bush, respectively) is not much greater than for Congresses that did not lead up to a presidential election. Furthermore, more nominations were returned to the President at the end of President Reagan's first term (the 98th Congress, 24 nominations) than at the end of his second term (the 100th Congress, 17 nominations). Third, returns have disproportionately affected nominees to the courts of appeals. Between 1977 and 2006, 1,437 nominations were made to district court positions, of which 243 (16.9%) were returned. For the courts of appeals, 461 nominations were made, of which 145 (31.5%) were returned.8 Fourth, the number of returns has trended upward, particularly during the last eight Congresses (102nd to 109th). President George W. Bush has the greatest number of returned nominations per Congress, with 147 returns over three Congresses, an average of 49 nominations per Congress. If one excludes the 40 intrasession returns during the 107th Congress, the average is 35.7 returns per Congress, higher than the average number of returns per Congress for President Clinton (26.3) and President George H.W. Bush (30). All three of those averages are higher than the average number of returns per Congress for President Reagan (13.8) and President Carter (10.5). Figure 1 plots the trends in number of returns per Congress, counting all types of returns (intrasession, intersession, and end of Congress). As Figure 1 indicates, in every Congress from the 103rd (1993-1994) through the 107th (2001-2002), the number of courts of appeals nominations returned increased, with a drop-off in the 108th Congress. The number of returns of courts of appeals nominations in the 109th Congress was the second-highest in the past 30 years. With the exception of the 105th Congress, a similar pattern can be observed for district court nominations, though the 8 These numbers reflect nominations, not nominees, of which there were 358 for the courts of appeals and 1,301 for district courts in the 95th - 109th Congresses. CRS-6 number of district court nominations returned in the 109th Congress (28) was the third-highest number since 1977. Figure 1. Returns of Judicial Nominations, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) 50 45 40 35 Number of Returns 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Congress District Court Returns Court of Appeals Returns Possible Explanations for Returns. As suggested above, analysis of Table 1 and Figure 1 makes clear that returns of nominations have generally increased over time, and particular instances of high numbers of returns generally coincided with periods of divided party control of the presidency and the Senate. But divided party control of the Senate and presidency also existed during the 100th through 102nd Congresses, and the 101st Congress (1989-1990) had the lowest number of returns of any Congress since the 97th (1981-1982). Furthermore, in the absence of divided party control in the 108th and 109th Congresses, nominees were returned with some frequency. Another explanation for the generally increasing frequency of returns may be related to timing; in particular, the President may have made nominations too late in a Congress for the Senate to have given full consideration to the nominee. If the timing of a nomination contributed to the likelihood of a return, the nominations made later in a Congress would have been more likely to be returned to the President than those made earlier in a Congress. This possibility can be evaluated by breaking each Congress down into five periods -- specifically, the first session (roughly speaking, the first year) of any Congress, and then each of the quarters of the second session of each Congress, to see if the number of nominations returned increased in each period.9 Table 2 focuses on the first nomination of each individual to a judgeship by the President, and excludes those nominations that resulted in intrasession and intersession returns to provide a clearer picture of the relationship 9 To simplify Table 2, the first session of each Congress was not broken up into quarters. CRS-7 between the time remaining in a Congress and the likelihood of return of a nomination. Of the 1,437 district court and 461 courts of appeals nominations made between 1977 and 2006, 1,269 district court nominations and 332 courts of appeals nominations met these criteria. The nominations were assigned to one of the five time periods on the basis of the date the nomination was received by the Senate. Table 2 presents information on when a nomination was submitted to the Senate and the percentage of nominations returned to the President. As the data in Table 2 indicate, 5.0% of nominations made to the district courts in the first session of a Congress were returned to the President, while 40.4% of nominations made in the third quarter (July 1-September 30) of the second session of a Congress and 74.1% of the nominations made in the fourth quarter (October 1- December 31) were returned. This pattern suggests that one of the factors influencing the number of district court nominations returned to the President was the time in a Congress when the President made a nomination. This pattern is also found in nominations to the courts of appeals, but the increase over time is somewhat less pronounced; 16.0% of nominations made in the first session were returned at the end of a Congress, while 30.6% of nominations made in the third quarter of the second session and 80.0% of the nominations made in the fourth quarter of the second session were returned. The overall relationship between timing of a nomination and probability of a return may help explain why some nominations are returned while others are not, but does not aid in understanding why the number of returned nominations has increased over the past 30 years. If, however, more recent Presidents have made more of their nominations near the end of a Congress, then the Senate may be returning more nominations simply because the President is nominating more individuals to judgeships later in a Congress. Table 3 reports the percentage of nominees who received their first nominations in the last six months of a Congress. To a somewhat greater degree than 30 years ago, Presidents are nominating individuals to the district courts late in a Congress, and the Senate is returning those nominations with greater frequency. President George W. Bush (18.9% of first nominations submitted in the last six months of a Congress) submitted a greater percentage of nominations to district court judgeships than any other president in the past 30 years, followed by Presidents Reagan and Clinton (both at 16.8%). As the second column of Table 3 indicates, a greater percentage of President George W. Bush's end-of-Congress nominations have been returned by the Senate than any other President's in the last 30 years. The increased percentage of nominations made late in a Congress and the increased percentage of those nominations returned during President George W. Bush's tenure may explain the increase in returns, but may themselves be explained by still other factors. CRS-8 Table 2. Number of Returned U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominations, by Period in Which Nominations Were Submitted, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) District Courts Courts of Appeals Time Period Nomination Submitted Total Nominations Total Nominations Nominationsa Returned Return % Nominationsa Returned Return % First Session 679 34 5.0% 194 31 16.0% First Quarter, 176 24 13.6% 50 12 24.0% Second Session Second Quarter, 209 46 22.0% 47 17 36.2% Second Session Third Quarter, 178 72 40.4% 36 11 30.6% Second Session Fourth Quarter, 27 20 74.1% 5 4 80.0% Second Session Total 1,269 196 15.4% 332 75 22.6% Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Values indicate the number of nominations submitted by the President in the time period indicated. Only the first nomination of an individual to a judgeship is included. Any nominations that were first returned during an intrasession or intersession recess are excluded from the data used for this table in order to illustrate the effect of time period of nomination on end-of- Congress returns. CRS-9 Table 3 also indicates that, on average, nominations to the courts of appeals made in the last six months of a Congress were less likely to occur, but more likely to be returned, under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush than under their three predecessors. The percentage of nominations made by Presidents to the courts of appeals in the last six months of a Congress was 10.0% for three of the five presidents between 1977 and 2006 (Presidents Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton). President George W. Bush has nominated one judge to the courts of appeals for the first time in the last six months of a Congress, and that nomination was returned by the Senate at the end of a Congress.10 The percentage of nominations to the courts of appeals made in the last six months of a Congress that were returned is substantially higher for Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush (taken together) than for the collective record of Presidents Carter, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. Table 3. Percentage of Nominations to U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals Made in the Last Six Months of a Congress and Percentage of Those Nominations Returned, by President, 1977-2006 President District Courts Courts of Appeals % of % of Those % of % of Those Nominations Nominations Nominations Nominations Made in the Returned Made in the Returned Last Six Last Six Months of a Months of a Congressa Congressa Carter 10.3% 41.7% 10.0% 50.0% Reagan 16.8% 32.7% 20.2% 30.0% George H.W. 13.1% 48.0% 10.0% 0.0% Bush Clinton 16.8% 37.7% 10.0% 55.6% George W. 18.9% 69.8% 1.6% 100.0% Bush Total 15.5% 44.9% 11.2% 36.6% Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Only the first nomination of an individual to a judgeship is included. Any nominations that were first returned during an intrasession or intersession recess are excluded from the data used for this table in order to illustrate the effect of time period of nomination on end-of-Congress returns. 10 The nomination was of Thomas M. Hardiman to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, made on Sept. 13, 2006, and returned on Dec. 9, 2006, at the end of the 109th Congress. CRS-10 Patterns in Renominations The President resubmitted the nominations of 197 individuals to the Senate between 1977 and 2006: 70 to the courts of appeals and 127 to the district courts. The 70 individuals were renominated to the courts of appeals a total of 103 times; the 127 individuals renominated to the district courts were renominated a total of 145 times. Not all returned nominations are resubmitted to the Senate. In some cases, a return at the end of a Congress may be of a nomination made by a President who is leaving office, and the next President may choose not to renominate the person. This particularly has been true when there have been changes in party control of the presidency. One President since 1977, George W. Bush, has resubmitted a court of appeals nomination originally made by a predecessor of the opposing party.11 Renominations of individuals originally nominated by a President of a different party to district judgeships are also uncommon, but not quite as rare; such renominations have occurred 10 times since 1977.12 Table 4 and Figure 2 track renominations of district court and courts of appeals nominees by President and Congress. The patterns observed in returned nominations appear to some degree in renominations. Whereas returns were most common at the end of a President's term, renominations were least common during the first Congress of a President, because individuals whose nominations were returned in the last Congress of a predecessor were unlikely candidates for renomination. This is particularly noticeable when partisan control of the presidency changed with the elections of Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Each of these Presidents had three renominations in his first Congress.13 11 Roger L. Gregory, originally nominated to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Clinton, was confirmed once he was nominated by President George W. Bush. See Appendix 1. 12 Two of the 10 nominees were first nominated by President Carter and renominated by President Reagan: Israel Glasser (Eastern New York), and John Sprizzo (Southern New York). One, Ralph Nimmons (Middle Florida), was nominated by President Carter and renominated by President George H.W. Bush. Five were first nominated by President George H.W. Bush and renominated by President Clinton: Richard Casey (Southern New York), Raymond Finch (Virgin Islands), George O'Toole (Massachusetts), Joanna Seybert (Eastern New York), and David Trager (Eastern New York). Two, David Cercone (Western Pennsylvania) and Legrome Davis (Eastern Pennsylvania, were first nominated by President Clinton and was renominated by President George W. Bush. All 10 were confirmed. See Appendix 2 for additional details on these nominees. 13 President Clinton also renominated James Jones to the Western District of Virginia in the 104th Congress. Judge Jones was originally nominated by President Carter. CRS-11 Table 4. Number of U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Renominations, by President and Congress, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) President Congress District Court Courts of Appeals Total Renominations Renominations Renominations 95th 3 0 3 Carter th 96 1 1 2 97th 3 0 3 th 98 5 4 9 Reagan th 99 20 4 24 100th 2 0 2 st George H.W. 101 7 3 10 Bush 102 nd 3 1 4 103rd 3 0 3 th 104 8 3 11 Clinton th 105 18 7 25 106th 8 6 14 th 107 31 32 63 George W. 108th 16 18 34 Bush th 109 8 24 32 Total Renominations 136 103 239 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. Cell entries include all renominations, including those of persons first nominated in a previous Congress or earlier in the same Congress. Two other patterns are consistent with respect to returns: appeals court nominees are disproportionately represented in the renomination data, and there has been a marked increase over time in the number of renominations. These two patterns clearly flow from the increase in returned nominations, but some specific data may prove illustrative. Of the 1,437 total nominations to district court positions between 1977 and 2006, 136, or 9.4%, were renominations. Of the 461 total nominations to the courts of appeals over that same time period, 103, or 22.3%, were renominations. Of the 245 returned district judge nominations, 136 (55.5%) of the nominations were resubmitted; of the 145 returned courts of appeals nominations, 103 (71.0%) of the nominations were resubmitted.14 14 On Jan. 9, 2007, President George W. Bush resubmitted the nominations of four of the 10 nominees to the courts of appeals whose nominations were returned at the end of the 109th Congress, and 24 of the 28 district court nominations returned at the end of the 109th Congress. This raises the count of resubmitted nominations to 140 of 245 (57.1%) for the courts of appeals and 127 of 145 (87.5%) for the district courts, as of Jan. 9, 2007. CRS-12 Finally, as noted above in the case of returns, the number of renominations has also increased over time. Using the data from Table 4, one can calculate the average number of renominations per Congress for each President. President Carter resubmitted a judicial nomination an average of two times per Congress; President Reagan resubmitted a judicial nomination an average of 9.5 times per Congress; President George H.W. Bush did so seven times per Congress; and President Clinton averaged 13.3 judicial renominations per Congress. If one does not count the 40 nominations returned by the Senate in August 2001 and resubmitted the next month, President George W. Bush has averaged 29.7 renominations per Congress for his first three Congresses.15 Figure 2 tracks this rise, by Congress, for district court and courts of appeals nominations that were resubmitted. As Figure 2 indicates, a greater number of renominations have certainly occurred over the last three Congresses, but the 104th, 105th, and 106th Congresses all saw more renominations than most other Congresses (the clear exception being the considerable number of renominations to district court judgeships in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), which followed the return of 17 nominations to district court judgeships in the 98th Congress (1983-1984)). Figure 2. Renominations to U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeals by Congress, 1977-2006 35 30 Number of Renominations 25 20 15 10 5 0 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 Congress District Court Renominations Court of Appeals Renominations Beyond the Second Nomination. Several nominees to the district courts and courts of appeals were renominated more than once between 1977 and 2006. Table 5 reports the number of times each individual was nominated to a particular position. As Table 5 indicates, courts of appeals nominees were more likely to have multiple nominations than district court nominees; 127 of 1,301 (9.8%) district court nominees were nominated more than once, while 70 of 358 (19.6%) courts of appeals nominees were nominated more than once. Table 5 also indicates the unique nature of the experience of Terrence W. Boyle, the only judicial nominee in the last 30 years to be nominated seven times to the same judgeship; no other individual has been 15 If one does include the 40 individuals renominated in Sept. 2001, President George W. Bush's average rises to 43 renominations per Congress, through the 109th Congress. CRS-13 nominated more than four times.16 All five of the courts of appeals nominees nominated to one judicial position four times were nominees of President George W. Bush (William J. Haynes II, William G. Myers III, Priscilla R. Owen, Charles W. Pickering, Sr., and John G. Roberts, Jr.). The number of nominations for Judges Boyle and (now Chief Justice) Roberts included one nomination each by President George H.W. Bush in the 102nd Congress.17 Table 5. Nomination Frequency for U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees, 1977-2006 Times District Court Courts of Appeals Total Nominated Nominees Nominees 1 1,174 288 1,462 2 118 46 164 3 9 18 27 4 0 5 5 5 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 7 0 1 1 Total 1,301 358 1,659 (1,437 nominations) (461 nominations) Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. Senate Judiciary Committee Practice with Resubmitted Nominations Renominated Courts of Appeals Nominees. Judicial nominations may be returned to the President at different points in the confirmation process: without ever receiving a confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee; after receiving a hearing, but before receiving a recommendation from the Senate Judiciary Committee; or after being reported by the Judiciary Committee but before receiving a Senate confirmation vote.18 16 Media accounts at the opening of the 110th Congress reported that President George W. Bush did not intend to resubmit Boyle in the 110th Congress. See Keith Perine, "Bush Pulls Plug on Doomed Judicial Nominations, but Differences Remain," CQ Today News, Jan. 9, 2007, available at [http://www.cq.com]. 17 This report does not include the nominations of John G. Roberts, Jr., to the U.S. Supreme Court. These statistics account only for his nominations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 18 Nominations returned at this stage may include nominations that were debated by the Senate but were not voted on due to a motion on the floor that prevented a final vote on a nomination (e.g., to table the nomination, to recommit the nomination, or a failed cloture (continued...) CRS-14 Table 6 sheds light on how nominations are processed by the Senate Judiciary Committee by looking at the first and second nominations of appeals court nominees and determining if those nominees received hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Table 6 accounts for all 70 renominated courts of appeals nominees during the 1977-2006 period, breaking down the numerical total according to whether they received or did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations. Table 6. Renominated Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 1977-2006: Number Receiving Hearings on the First or Second Nominations No Hearing on Hearing on First Total First Nomination Nomination Nominees No Hearing on Second 15a 13 28 Nomination Hearing on Second 33b 9 42 Nomination Total Nominees 48 22 70 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Includes six nominations resubmitted by President Clinton at the beginning of the 107th Congress in the last weeks of the Clinton presidency, but withdrawn by President Bush in Mar. 2001, and two nominations returned during the Aug. 2001 recess, following change in party control of the Senate. b. Includes 14 nominations returned during the Aug. 2001 recess, following change in party control of the Senate. As Table 6 indicates, a majority of the 70 courts of appeals nominees whose nominations were resubmitted during the 1977-2006 period received hearings by the Senate, even if they did not receive those hearings on their first nominations. Fifty- five of the 70 nominees (78.6%) received hearings on at least one of their first two nominations; nine of the 70 (12.9%) received hearings on both the first and second nominations. The most common pattern is for nominees to receive no hearings on their first nominations, but to receive hearings on their second nominations; 33 of the 70 nominees (47.1%) whose nominations were resubmitted followed this trend. Some 15 nominees did not receive hearings on either of their first two nominations; six of these were individuals nominated first in the 106th Congress by President Clinton and then renominated at the beginning of the 107th Congress, 17 days before President 18 (...continued) motion on the nomination). CRS-15 Clinton left office. The remaining nine nominees who did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations received third nominations. Hearings for Courts of Appeals Nominees with Three or More Nominations. Twenty-four individuals were renominated more than once to the courts of appeals during the 1977-2006 period (see Table 5). Fifteen of those 24 did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations; six of those were individuals nominated by President Clinton in the 106th Congress and renominated at the beginning of the 107th Congress, 17 days before President Clinton left office. Of the remaining nine nominees who did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations, seven eventually did receive hearings: Terrence W. Boyle (Fourth Circuit), Deborah L. Cook (Sixth Circuit), Carolyn B. Kuhl (Ninth), John G. Roberts, Jr. (District of Columbia), Jeffrey S. Sutton (Sixth), Timothy M. Tymkovich (Tenth), and Sherman E. Unger (Federal Circuit). Of these seven, Boyle, Kuhl, and Unger were never confirmed to seats on the courts of appeals. In addition to the six Clinton nominees renominated in the 107th Congress whose nominations were withdrawn by President George W. Bush, the other two nominees who were nominated at least twice and never received hearings were Barry P. Goode (Ninth Circuit) and Helene N. White (Sixth Circuit), both of whom were nominated three times, in the 105th, 106th, and 107th Congresses, by President Clinton.19 Resubmitted District Court Nominations. Many of the same patterns observed in Judiciary Committee practice with resubmitted courts of appeals nominations can be seen in Judiciary Committee treatment of resubmitted district court nominations. For district court nominees, third nominations are very rare (as Table 5 indicates, nine individuals have been nominated to the same positions three times since 1977; none has been nominated more than three times). Accordingly, an analysis of Judiciary Committee treatment of the first two nominations covers nearly all nominations to the district courts in the last 30 years. Table 7 reports Judiciary Committee practice with resubmitted district court nominations. Specifically, Table 7 accounts for all 127 renominated district court nominees during the 1977-2006 period, breaking down the numerical total according to whether the nominees received or did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations. 19 For details on these nominees, see Appendix 1. CRS-16 Table 7. Renominated Nominees to the U.S. District Courts, 1977 - 2006: Number Receiving Hearings on the First or Second Nominations No Hearing on Hearing on First Total First Nomination Nomination Nominees No Hearing on Second 17 16 33 Nomination Hearing on Second 83a 11 94 Nomination Total Nominees 100 27 127 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Includes 18 nominations returned during the Aug. 2001 recess, following change in party control of the Senate. As was the case for courts of appeals nominees, most district court nominees received hearings by the Judiciary Committee, even if the hearings were not on the first nominations. Only 17 of the nominees whose nominations were resubmitted did not receive hearings on their first or second nominations.20 The most common pattern is to not receive a hearing on the first nomination but to receive a hearing on the second nomination; 83 of the 127 (65.4%) district court nominees whose nominations were resubmitted followed this pattern. District Court Nominees with Three Nominations. Only nine individuals were nominated to seats on the U.S. district courts more than twice between 1977 and 2006.21 All nine received hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee on at least one of the three nominations. James McGregor, nominated in three consecutive Congresses (the 100th, 101st, and 102nd), received a hearing on his first nomination, but was never confirmed. The other eight nominees were eventually confirmed by the Senate, though three were first nominated by President George H.W. Bush during the 102nd Congress and were not confirmed until renominated by President George W. Bush.22 20 Seven of the 17 were nominated a third time, received hearings, and were confirmed on the third nomination. For details on these nominees, see Appendix 2. 21 Those nine individuals (and the districts to which they were nominated) are Legrome Davis (Eastern Pennsylvania), James Dever III (Eastern North Carolina), Larry Hicks (Nevada), Thomas Ludington (Eastern Michigan), James McGregor (Western Pennsylvania), James Payne (Northern, Eastern, and Western Oklahoma), William Quarles, Jr. (Maryland), John Vukasin, Jr. (Northern California), and Vaughn Walker (Northern California). See Appendix 2 for details. 22 Larry Hicks (Nevada) and James Payne (Northern, Eastern, and Western Oklahoma) were confirmed in the 107th Congress; William Quarles (Maryland) was confirmed in the 108th Congress. See Appendix 2 for details. CRS-17 Resubmissions and Confirmation Previous sections of this report have focused on Senate practice with returns, patterns in presidential resubmissions, and how renominated individuals were treated by the Senate Judiciary Committee. This section examines how renominated judicial nominees ultimately fared before the Senate relative to other judicial nominees. If returns and renominations tend to indicate controversial nominations, then one might expect that fewer judicial nominees who received multiple nominations were confirmed than those who were nominated only once. On the other hand, there is some evidence that returns (particularly of district court nominations) are necessitated by the Senate not finding time in its schedule to confirm nominees on their initial nominations. If returns and renominations are driven largely by the Senate calendar (and, by extension, the time the vacancy occurs and the time the President takes to fill vacancies with nominees), then renominated individuals should be confirmed at nearly the same rate as individuals who are nominated only once. Table 8 presents the percentage of nominees confirmed by the number of times they were nominated during the 1977-2006 period. District judges who were nominated only once were confirmed 90.2% of the time on the first nomination. Of those district judges who were renominated, 88.1% were confirmed on the second nomination, and 88.9% of those who received three nominations were confirmed on the third nomination. Therefore, the data indicate that, for district judges, renominations (and returns that necessitate the President's renomination) do not appear to diminish substantially the probability that the nominee will eventually be confirmed. The same cannot be said for nominees to the courts of appeals. Examination of Table 8 reveals that 86.5% of the nominees who were nominated only once were confirmed.23 That number fell to 78.3% for second nominations and to 55.6% for third nominations. Furthermore, of the five individuals who received four nominations, two (40.0%) were confirmed. Therefore, the data indicate that nominees to the courts of appeals faced a declining probability of confirmation the more often their nominations were returned by the Senate. 23 This is somewhat different from saying what percentage of nominees were confirmed on their first nomination. Between 1977 and 2006, 249 of 358 total courts of appeals nominees, or 69.5%, were confirmed on their first nomination. For district court nominees, 1,059 of 1,301 nominees, or 81.4%, were confirmed on their first nomination. CRS-18 Table 8. U.S. District Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees: Renominations and Confirmation Rate, by Renomination, 95th - 109th Congresses (1977-2006) District Courts Courts of Appeals Total Times Nominated % % % Nominees Confirmed Confirmed Nominees Confirmed Confirmed Nominees Confirmed Confirmed 1 1174 1059 90.2% 288 249 86.5% 1462 1308 89.5% 2 118 104 88.1% 46 36 78.3% 164 140 85.4% 3 9 8 88.9% 18 10 55.6% 27 18 66.7% 4 0 0 -- 5 2 40.0% 5 2 40.0% 5 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 6 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 7 0 0 -- 1 0 0.0% 1 0 0.0% Total 1301 1171 90.0% 358 297 83.0% 1659 1468 88.5% 1,437 total nominations 461 total nominations 1,898 total nominations Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. CRS-19 Concluding Observations Renominations are an increasingly common feature of the judicial nomination and confirmation process. This report chronicles the uneven rise of renominations in the judicial nomination process between 1977 and 2006 and assesses the Senate handling of hearings for judicial nominees whose nominations have been resubmitted, as well as the ultimate prospects for confirmation for nominees whose nominations were returned and resubmitted at least one time. Two important trends emerge from this analysis. First, returns by the Senate and renominations by the President have grown over the past 30 years. Within that overall growth, Senate returns of nominations are most common in the final Congress of a President's term. Before the 107th Congress, the two Congresses with the most returned nominations were the 102nd Congress, when Democrats controlled the Senate and President George H.W. Bush was ending what would be his only term as President; and the 106th Congress, when Republicans controlled the Senate and President Clinton was ending his second term. Second, there is an important distinction between the path of nominees to the U.S. district courts and the U.S. courts of appeals. Nominees to the courts of appeals were more likely to have their nominations returned by the Senate, were more likely to be renominated more than once (though less likely to be renominated by a President of a different political party than district court nominees), were more likely to have second hearings if they received hearings on their first nominations, and were less likely to be confirmed on their second and subsequent nominations than nominees to the district courts. These trends reflect an increasing controversy over courts of appeals nominees; the difference in the treatment of district court nominees and courts of appeals nominees has become more pronounced in the last 30 years. CRS-20 Appendix 1. U.S. Courts of Appeals Nominees with Resubmitted Nominations, 95th Congress - 109th Congress (1977-2006) Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 108th 4/28/2003 10/28/2003 -- Returned 12/9/2003 Allen, Claude A. Fourth 108th 1/20/2004 -- -- Returned 12/8/2004 96th 12/14/1979 -- -- Withdrawn 12/19/1979 Arnold, Richard S. Eighth th 96 12/19/1979 2/7/1980 2/19/1980 Confirmed 2/20/1980 104th 12/22/1995 -- -- Returned 10/4/1996 Beaty, James A., Jr. Fourth th 105 1/7/1997 1/7/1997 -- Returned 10/21/1998 105th 1/27/1998 7/30/1998 -- Returned 10/21/1998 Berzon, Marsha L. Ninth th 106 1/26/1999 6/16/1999 7/1/1999 Confirmed 3/9/2000 99th 12/9/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 Boggs, Danny J. Sixth th 99 1/29/1986 2/5/1986 2/27/1986 Confirmed 3/3/1986 102nd 10/22/1991 -- -- Returned 10/8/1992 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 107th 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 th Boyle, Terrence W. Fourth 108 1/7/2003 -- -- Returned 12/8/2004 109th 2/14/2005 3/3/2005 6/16/2005 Returned 8/3/2006 th 109 9/5/2006 -- -- Returned 9/29/2006 109th 11/15/2006 -- -- Returned 12/9/2006 CRS-21 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action Cloture failed (53-43), 108th 7/25/2003 10/22/2003 11/6/2003 11/14/2003 Brown, Janice R. DC Returned 12/8/2004 109th 2/14/2005 -- 4/21/2005 Confirmed 6/8/2005 th 98 10/5/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 Brunetti, Melvin T. Ninth 99th 2/26/1985 3/6/1985 4/3/1985 Confirmed 4/3/1985 th 107 5/22/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Bybee, Jay S. Ninth 108th 1/7/2003 2/5/2003 2/27/2003 Confirmed 3/13/2003 th 106 3/2/2000 5/25/2000 -- Returned 12/15/2000 Campbell, Bonnie J. Eighth 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 th 104 3/6/1996 3/27/1996 4/25/1996 Returned 10/4/1996 Clay, Eric L. Sixth 105th 1/7/1997 5/7/1997 5/22/1997 Confirmed 7/31/1997 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Clement, Edith B. Fifth 107th 9/4/2001 10/4/2001 11/1/2001 Confirmed 11/13/2001 th 107 6/22/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Clifton, Richard R. Ninth 107th 9/4/2001 5/9/2002 5/16/2002 Confirmed 7/18/2002 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Cook, Deborah L. Sixth 107th 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 th 108 1/7/2003 1/29/2003 2/27/2003 Confirmed 5/5/2003 103rd 6/8/1994 9/14/1994 -- Returned 11/14/1994 Motion to recommit (46- Dennis, James L. Fifth 104th 1/31/1995 9/14/1994 7/20/1995 54), 9/28/1995 Confirmed 9/28/1995 CRS-22 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 106th 6/17/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Duffy, James E., Jr. Ninth 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 105th 4/1/1998 7/16/1998 9/10/1998 Returned 10/21/1998 Dyk, Timothy B. Federal th 106 1/26/1999 -- 10/21/1999 Confirmed 5/24/2000 98th 8/1/1984 9/5/1984 9/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 Easterbrook, Frank H. Seventh th 99 2/25/1985 -- 4/3/1985 Confirmed 4/3/1985 107th 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 th 107 9/4/2001 9/26/2002 -- Returned 11/20/2002 Cloture failed (55-44), 3/6/2003 Cloture failed (55-42), 3/13/2003 Cloture failed (55-45), 3/18/2003 Estrada, Miguel A. DC Cloture failed (55-44), 108th 1/7/2003 -- 1/30/2003 4/2/2003 Cloture failed (52-39), 5/5/2003 Cloture failed (54-43), 5/8/2003 Cloture failed (55-43), 7/30/2003 Withdrawn 9/4/2003 100th 9/16/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Fernandez, Ferdinand F. Ninth 101st 2/28/1989 5/11/1989 5/18/1989 Confirmed 5/18/1989 CRS-23 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 104th 4/25/1995 12/19/1995 5/16/1996 Returned 10/4/1996 Fletcher, William A. Ninth 105th 1/7/1997 4/29/1998 5/21/1998 Confirmed 10/8/1998 104th 4/18/1996 6/25/1996 6/27/1996 Returned 10/4/1996 Gajarsa, Arthur Federal th 105 1/7/1997 5/7/1997 5/22/1997 Confirmed 7/31/1997 104th 9/5/1995 11/30/1995 12/14/1995 Returned 10/4/1996 Garland, Merrick B. DC th 105 1/7/1997 -- 3/6/1997 Confirmed 3/19/1997 105th 6/24/1998 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 Goode, Barry P. Ninth th 106 1/26/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 th 105 11/8/1997 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 Gould, Ronald M. Ninth 106th 1/26/1999 9/14/1999 10/7/1999 Confirmed 11/17/1999 th 106 6/30/2000 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Gregory, Roger L. Fourth 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 th 107 5/9/2001 7/11/2001 7/19/2001 Confirmed 7/20/2001 107th 6/26/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Cloture failed (54-44), Griffin, Richard A. Sixth 108th 1/7/2003 6/16/2004 7/20/2004 7/22/2004 Returned 12/8/2004 109th 2/14/2005 -- 5/26/2005 Confirmed 6/9/2005 108th 5/10/2004 11/16/2004 -- Returned 12/8/2004 Griffith, Thomas B. DC th 109 2/14/2005 3/8/2005 4/14/2005 Confirmed 6/14/2005 CRS-24 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 107th 6/21/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Hartz, Harris L. Tenth 107th 9/4/2001 10/25/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/6/2001 108th 9/29/2003 11/19/2003 3/11/2004 Returned 12/8/2004 th Haynes, William J., II Fourth 109 2/14/2005 7/11/2006 -- Returned 8/3/2006 109th 9/5/2006 -- -- Returned 9/29/2006 th 107 8/2/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Howard, Jeffrey R. First 107th 9/4/2001 4/11/2002 4/18/2002 Confirmed 4/23/2002 th 106 4/22/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Johnson, H. Alston, III Fifth 107th 1/4/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 th 98 9/17/1984 9/26/1984 -- Returned 10/18/1984 Jones, Edith H. Fifth 99th 2/27/1985 -- 4/3/1985 Confirmed 4/3/1985 th 108 7/25/2003 4/27/2004 -- Returned 12/8/2004 Kavanaugh, Brett M. DC 109th 2/14/2005 -- -- Returned 12/21/2005 th 109 1/25/2006 5/9/2006 5/11/2006 Confirmed 5/26/2006 109th 6/29/2006 8/1/2006 -- Returned 9/29/2006 Keisler, Peter D. DC th 109 11/15/2006 -- -- Returned 12/9/2006 107th 6/22/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 th 107 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Kuhl, Carolyn B. Ninth Cloture failed (53-43), 108th 1/7/2003 4/1/2003 5/8/2003 11/14/2003 Returned 12/8/2004 CRS-25 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 106th 9/16/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Lewis, Kathleen M. Sixth 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 103rd 9/14/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Lynch, Sandra L. First th 104 1/11/1995 2/8/1995 2/23/1995 Confirmed 3/17/1995 107th 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 McConnell, Michael W. Tenth th 107 9/4/2001 9/18/2002 11/14/2002 Confirmed 11/15/2002 th 107 11/8/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Cloture failed (53-44), McKeague, David W. Sixth 108th 1/7/2003 6/16/2004 7/20/2004 7/22/2004 Returned 12/8/2004 109th 2/14/2005 -- 5/26/2005 Confirmed 6/9/2005 th 104 3/29/1996 -- -- Returned 10/4/1996 McKeown, M. Margaret Ninth 105th 1/7/1997 2/4/1998 2/26/1998 Confirmed 3/27/1998 th 107 7/10/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Melloy, Michael J. Eighth 107th 9/4/2001 1/24/2002 2/7/2002 Confirmed 2/11/2002 rd 103 9/14/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Moore, Karen N. Sixth 104th 1/24/1995 2/27/1995 3/16/1995 Confirmed 3/24/1995 th 106 9/16/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Moreno, Enrique Fifth 107th 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 CRS-26 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action Cloture failed (53-44), 108th 5/15/2003 2/5/2004 4/1/2004 7/20/2004 Returned 12/8/2004 Myers, William G., III Ninth 109th 2/14/2005 3/1/2005 3/17/2005 Returned 8/3/2006 th 109 9/5/2006 -- -- Returned 9/29/2006 109th 11/15/2006 -- -- Returned 12/9/2006 th 107 11/8/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Neilson, Susan B. Sixth 108th 1/7/2003 9/8/2004 10/4/2004 Returned 12/8/2004 th 109 2/14/2005 -- 10/20/2005 Confirmed 10/27/2005 107th 8/2/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 O'Brien, Terrence L. Tenth th 107 9/4/2001 3/19/2002 4/11/2002 Confirmed 4/15/2002 CRS-27 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 107th 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Motion to report favorably (9-10), 9/5/2002 Motion to report without 107th 9/4/2001 7/23/2002 Returned 11/20/2002 recommendation (9- 10), 9/25/2002 Motion to report unfavorably (9-10), Owen, Priscilla R. Fifth 9/25/2002 Cloture failed (52-45), 5/1/2003 Cloture failed (52-45), 108th 1/7/2003 3/13/2003 3/27/2003 5/8/2003 Cloture failed (53-43), 7/29/2003 Returned 12/8/2004 Cloture invoked (81-18), 109th 2/14/2005 -- 4/21/2005 5/24/2005 Confirmed 5/25/2005 104th 1/25/1996 7/31/1996 -- Returned 10/4/1996 th Paez, Richard A. Ninth 105 1/7/1997 2/25/1998 3/19/1998 Returned 10/21/1998 106th 1/26/1999 -- 7/29/1999 Confirmed 3/9/2000 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Parker, Barrington D., Jr. Second 107th 9/4/2001 9/13/2001 10/4/2001 Confirmed 10/11/2001 CRS-28 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 107th 5/25/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Motion to report 10/18/2001 favorably (9-10), 3/14/2002 Motion to report without 107th 9/4/2001 2/7/2002 Returned 11/20/2002 recommendation (9- Pickering, Charles W., Sr. Fifth 10), 3/14/2002 Motion to report unfavorably (9-10), 3/14/2002 Cloture failed (54-43), 108th 1/7/2003 -- 10/2/2003 10/30/2003 Returned 12/8/2004 108th 2/6/2004 -- -- Returned 12/8/2004b 107th 5/21/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Prost, Sharon Federal th 107 9/4/2001 8/27/2001 9/6/2001 Confirmed 9/21/2001 Cloture failed (53-44), 7/31/2003 108th 4/9/2003 6/11/2003 7/23/2003 Cloture failed (51-43), 11/6/2003 Pryor, William H., Jr. Eleventh Returned 12/8/2004 108th 3/12/2004 -- -- Returned 12/8/2004c 109th 2/14/2005 -- 5/12/2005 Confirmed 6/9/2005 CRS-29 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 102nd 1/27/1992 -- -- Returned 10/8/1992 107th 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Roberts, John G., Jr. DC 107th 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Motion to recommit, 1/29/2003 2/27/2003 4/30/2003 108th 1/7/2003 4/30/2003 5/8/2003 Confirmed 5/8/2003 100th 4/26/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Rymer, Pamela A. Ninth 101st 2/28/1989 4/5/1989 5/18/1989 Confirmed 5/18/1989 st 101 4/26/1990 -- -- Returned 10/28/1990 Motion to report favorably (6-8), Ryskamp, Kenneth L. Eleventh 4/11/1991 102nd 1/8/1991 3/19/1991 Motion to report Returned 8/2/1991 without recommendation (7- 7), 4/11/1991 107th 11/8/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Cloture failed (52-46), Saad, Henry W. Sixth 108th 1/7/2003 7/30/2003 6/17/2004 4/30/2003 Returned 12/8/2004 109th 2/14/2005 -- -- Withdrawn 3/27/2006 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Shedd, Dennis W. Fourth th 107 9/4/2001 6/27/2002 11/14/2002 Confirmed 11/19/2002 th 107 5/22/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Smith, Lavenski R. Eighth th 107 9/4/2001 5/23/2002 6/27/2002 Confirmed 7/15/2002 CRS-30 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 109th 12/16/2005 3/1/2006 5/4/2006 Returned 8/3/2006 Smith, N. Randyd Ninth 109th 9/5/2006 -- 9/21/2006 Returned 9/29/2006 109th 11/15/2006 -- -- Returned 12/9/2006 th 98 7/13/1983 7/22/1983 -- Returned 8/4/1983 Starr, Kenneth W. DC 98th 9/13/1983 -- 9/15/1983 Confirmed 9/20/1983 th 107 5/9/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 Sutton, Jeffrey S. Sixth 107th 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 th 108 1/7/2003 1/29/2003 2/13/2003 Confirmed 4/29/2003 107th 9/4/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 th Tymkovich, Timothy M. Tenth 107 5/25/2001 -- -- Returned 8/3/2001 108th 1/7/2003 2/12/2003 3/6/2003 Confirmed 4/1/2003 th 97 12/15/1982 -- -- Returned 12/23/1982 98th 4/21/1983 -- -- Returned 8/4/1983 9/29/1983 Unger, Sherman E. Federal 9/30/1983 th 98 9/13/1983 10/05/1983 -- Returned 11/22/1983 10/06/1983 10/27/1983 102nd 9/11/1991 -- -- Returned 10/8/1992 Van Antwerpen, Franklin S. Third th 108 11/21/2003 1/28/2004 3/4/2004 Confirmed 5/20/2004 CRS-31 Date of: Nominee's Name Circuit Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Actiona Final Action 109th 2/8/2006 -- -- Returned 8/3/2006 Wallace, Michael B. Fifth 109th 9/5/2006 9/26/2006 -- Returned 9/29/2006 109th 11/15/2006 -- -- Returned 12/9/2006 th 105 1/7/1997 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 White, Helene N. Sixth 106th 1/26/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 th 107 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 th 100 6/27/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Wiener, Jacques L., Jr. Fifth 101st 11/17/1989 2/21/1990 3/8/1990 Confirmed 3/9/1990 th 98 11/10/1983 11/16/1983 -- Returned 11/22/1983 Wilkinson, James H., III Fourth 2/22/1984 98th 1/30/1984 3/15/1984 Confirmed 8/9/1984 8/7/1984 106th 8/5/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Wynn, James A., Jr. Fourth th 107 1/3/2001 -- -- Withdrawn 3/19/2001 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Unless otherwise noted, the committee action date is the date that the motion to report favorably carried. b. Because Pickering received a recess appointment to the Fifth Circuit without his nomination being formally withdrawn by the President, both a nomination to the seat (made 1/7/2003) and a nomination to convert the recess appointment to one with Senate confirmation (made 2/6/2004) were pending before the Senate. c. Because Pryor received a recess appointment to the Eleventh Circuit without his nomination being formally withdrawn by the President, both a nomination to the seat (made 4/9/2003) and a nomination to convert the recess appointment to one with Senate confirmation (made 3/12/2004) were pending before the Senate. d. Resubmitted in the 110th Congress on Jan. 9, 2007. That nomination was withdrawn by President Bush on Jan. 16, 2007 and Smith was renominated to a different seat on the Ninth Circuit on that same day. CRS-32 Appendix 2. U.S. District Courts Nominees with Resubmitted Nominations, 95th Congress - 109th Congress (1977-2006) Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action 107th 10/10/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Adams, John R. N.OH th 108 01/07/2003 01/29/2003 02/06/2003 Confirmed 02/10/2003 104th 11/27/1995 09/24/1996 -- Returned 10/04/1996 Aiken, Ann L. OR th 105 01/07/1997 10/28/1997 11/06/1997 Confirmed 01/28/1998 102nd 03/20/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Anderson, Percy C.CA th 107 01/23/2002 04/11/2002 04/18/2002 Confirmed 04/25/2002 107th 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Armijo, M. Christina NM th 107 09/04/2001 10/18/2001 11/01/2001 Confirmed 11/06/2001 104th 03/06/1996 07/31/1996 -- Returned 10/04/1996 Bataillon, Joseph F. NE th 105 01/07/1997 07/22/1997 07/31/1997 Confirmed 09/11/1997 98th 10/05/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 Batchelder, Alice E. N.OH th 99 02/28/1985 03/06/1985 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 107th 06/20/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Bates, John D. DC th 107 09/04/2001 10/25/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/11/2001 104th 07/21/1995 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Bingler, John H., Jr. W.PA th 105 07/31/1997 -- -- Withdrawn 02/12/1998 100th 06/15/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Bonner, Robert C. C.CA st 101 02/28/1989 04/05/1989 05/18/1989 Confirmed 05/18/1989 107th 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Bowdre, Karon O. N.AL th 107 09/04/2001 10/18/2001 11/01/2001 Confirmed 11/06/2001 CRS-33 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 107 10/10/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Breen, J. Daniel W.TN 108th 01/07/2003 02/12/2003 03/06/2003 Confirmed 03/13/2003 th 99 12/04/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 Bryan, Robert J. W.WA 99th 02/03/1986 02/19/1986 02/27/1986 Confirmed 04/24/1986 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Bunning, David L. E.KY 107th 09/04/2001 12/10/2001 02/07/2002 Confirmed 02/14/2002 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Caldwell, Karen K. E.KY 107th 09/04/2001 10/04/2001 10/18/2001 Confirmed 10/23/2001 th 107 06/19/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Camp, Laurie S. NE 107th 09/04/2001 10/04/2001 10/18/2001 Confirmed 10/23/2001 th 107 10/10/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Carney, Cormac J. C.CA 108th 01/07/2003 03/12/2003 03/20/2003 Confirmed 04/07/2003 nd 102 07/02/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Casey, Richard C. S.NY 105th 07/16/1997 09/30/1997 10/09/1997 Confirmed 10/21/1997 th 107 06/19/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Cassell, Paul G. UT 107th 09/04/2001 03/19/2002 05/02/2002 Confirmed 05/13/2002 th 99 12/04/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 Cedarbaum, Miriam G. S.NY 99th 02/03/1986 02/19/1986 02/27/1986 Confirmed 03/03/1986 th 106 07/27/2000 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 Cercone, David S. W.PA 107th 03/21/2002 06/13/2002 06/20/2002 Confirmed 08/01/2002 rd 103 09/14/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Chesney, Maxine M. N.CA 104th 01/24/1995 03/28/1995 04/05/1995 Confirmed 05/08/1995 CRS-34 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 98 09/10/1984 09/18/1984 -- Returned 10/18/1984 Cobb, Howell E.TX 99th 02/26/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 95 11/02/1977 -- -- Returned 12/15/1977 Motion to report favorably Collins, Robert F. E.LA (5-5), 04/14/1978 95th 1/26/1978 02/07/1978 Confirmed 05/17/1978 Motion to report favorably (13-1), 05/16/1978 108th 04/28/2003 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 Conrad, Robert J., Jr. W.NC th 109 02/14/2005 03/03/2005 04/14/2005 Confirmed 04/28/2005 108th 09/10/2004 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 Cox, Sean F. E.MI th 109 02/14/2005 05/02/2006 05/11/2006 Confirmed 06/08/2006 108th 09/07/2004 11/16/2004 -- Returned 12/08/2004 Crotty, Paul A. S.NY th 109 02/14/2005 -- 03/17/2005 Confirmed 04/11/2005 105th 07/30/1998 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 th Davis, Legrome D. E.PA 106 01/26/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 107th 01/23/2002 03/19/2002 04/11/2002 Confirmed 04/18/2002 nd 102 06/03/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Davis, Leonard E. E.TX 107th 01/23/2002 04/25/2002 05/02/2002 Confirmed 05/09/2002 th 107 05/22/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Dever, James C., III E.NC 108th 01/07/2003 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 th 109 02/14/2005 03/03/2005 04/14/2005 Confirmed 04/28/2005 102nd 10/02/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Dimitrouleas, William P. S.FL th 105 01/27/1998 04/29/1998 05/07/1998 Confirmed 05/14/1998 CRS-35 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action nd 102 09/09/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Dorr, Richard E. W.MO 107th 03/21/2002 05/24/2002 06/13/2002 Confirmed 08/01/2002 th 100 06/20/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Dudley, Adriane J. VI 101st 03/08/1990 -- -- Returned 08/04/1990 th 99 09/26/1986 -- -- Returned 10/18/1986 Dwyer, William L. W.WA 100th 07/28/1987 09/11/1987 10/29/1987 Confirmed 11/05/1987 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Eagan, Clair V. N.OK 107th 09/04/2001 10/04/2001 10/18/2001 Confirmed 10/23/2001 th 98 09/11/1984 09/19/1984 09/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 Edgar, R. Allan E.TN 99th 02/26/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/15/1985 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Engelhardt, Kurt D. E.LA 107th 09/04/2001 10/25/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/11/2001 th 107 09/12/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Erickson, Ralph R. ND 108th 01/07/2003 02/05/2003 02/27/2003 Confirmed 03/12/2003 th 107 07/25/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Feuerstein, Sandra J. E.NY 108th 01/07/2003 07/22/2003 07/31/2003 Confirmed 09/17/2003 nd 102 06/19/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Finch, Raymond L. VI 103rd 03/22/1994 04/29/1994 05/05/1994 Confirmed 05/06/1994 th 99 10/29/1985 11/22/1985 -- Returned 12/20/1985 Fitzwater, Sidney A. N.TX 99th 01/29/1986 02/05/1986 02/27/1986 Confirmed 03/18/1986 rd 103 10/05/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Folsom, David E.TX 104th 01/11/1995 02/08/1995 02/23/1995 Confirmed 03/17/1995 CRS-36 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Friot, Stephen P. W.OK 107th 09/04/2001 10/18/2001 11/01/2001 Confirmed 11/06/2001 th 107 08/01/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Frost, Gregory L. S.OH 108th 01/07/2003 02/05/2003 02/27/2003 Confirmed 03/10/2003 th 98 07/21/1983 -- -- Returned 08/04/1983 Galane, Morton R. NV 98th 09/13/1983 -- -- Withdrawn 10/18/1983 th 100 07/06/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Garbis, Marvin J. MD 101st 08/04/1989 09/26/1989 10/18/1989 Confirmed 10/24/1989 th 99 12/04/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 Gex, Walter J., III S.MS 99th 01/29/1986 02/05/1986 02/20/1986 Confirmed 02/25/1986 th 96 09/17/1980 -- -- Returned 12/16/1980 Glasser, Israel L. E.NY 97th 11/23/1981 12/04/1981 12/08/1981 Confirmed 12/09/1981 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Granade, Callie V. S.AL 107th 09/04/2001 12/05/2001 12/13/2001 Confirmed 02/04/2002 th 96 03/05/1979 -- -- Withdrawn 03/06/1979 Green, Joyce H. DC 96th 03/06/1979 04/25/1979 05/08/1979 Confirmed 05/10/1979 th 107 07/10/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Gritzner, James E. S.IA 107th 09/04/2001 01/24/2002 02/07/2002 Confirmed 02/14/2002 nd 102 03/20/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Hanen, Andrew S. S.TX 107th 01/23/2002 04/25/2002 05/02/2002 Confirmed 05/09/2002 th 99 12/04/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 Hansen, David R. N.IA 99th 02/03/1986 02/19/1986 02/27/1986 Confirmed 03/03/1986 CRS-37 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 98 11/10/1983 11/16/1983 -- Returned 11/22/1983 Hargrove, John R. MD 98th 01/30/1984 -- 02/08/1984 Confirmed 02/09/1984 th 100 06/23/1988 -- -- Returned 10/22/1988 Harmon, Melinda S.TX 101st 02/28/1989 04/05/1989 05/18/1989 Confirmed 05/18/1989 rd 103 10/05/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Heartfield, Thad E.TX 104th 01/11/1995 02/08/1995 02/23/1995 Confirmed 03/17/1995 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Heaton, Joe L. W.OK 107th 09/04/2001 11/07/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/06/2001 th 96 02/27/1980 -- -- Returned 12/16/1980 Heen, Walter M. HI 97th 01/08/1981 -- -- Withdrawn 01/21/1981 th 105 09/16/1998 10/06/1998 10/08/1998 Returned 10/21/1998 Hibbler, William J. N.IL 106th 01/26/1999 -- 03/25/1999 Confirmed 04/15/1999 nd 102 07/12/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Hicks, Larry R. NV 107th 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 th 107 09/04/2001 10/18/2001 11/01/2001 Confirmed 11/05/2001 107th 09/12/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Hicks, S. Maurice, Jr. W.LA th 108 01/07/2003 04/30/2003 05/08/2003 Confirmed 05/19/2003 104th 11/27/1995 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Hochberg, Faith S. NJ th 106 04/22/1999 10/26/1999 11/04/1999 Confirmed 11/10/1999 98th 09/06/1984 09/18/1984 09/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 Holderman, James F., Jr. N.IL th 99 02/25/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 CRS-38 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 107 08/01/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Holwell, Richard J. S.NY 108th 01/07/2003 07/22/2003 07/31/2003 Confirmed 09/17/2003 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Johnson, William P. NM 107th 09/04/2001 10/25/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/13/2001 th 96 05/16/1979 08/26/1980 -- Returned 12/16/1980 Jones, James P. W.VA 104th 12/12/1995 02/28/1996 03/13/1996 Confirmed 07/18/1996 th 107 07/18/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Junell, Robert A. W.TX 108th 01/07/2003 01/29/2003 02/06/2003 Confirmed 02/10/2003 th 98 07/21/1983 08/01/1983 -- Returned 08/04/1983 Keenan, John F. S.NY 98th 09/13/1983 -- 09/15/1983 Confirmed 09/20/1983 th 105 09/16/1998 10/06/1998 -- Returned 10/21/1998 Kennelly, Matthew F. N.IL 106th 01/26/1999 -- 03/25/1999 Confirmed 04/15/1999 th 105 01/27/1998 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 Klein, James W. DC 106th 03/25/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 th 104 03/29/1996 07/31/1996 09/19/1996 Returned 10/04/1996 Kollar-Kotelly, Colleen DC 105th 01/07/1997 -- 05/06/1997 Confirmed 05/20/1997 th 98 09/11/1984 09/19/1984 09/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 La Plata, George E.MI 99th 02/27/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 104 05/09/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Lazzara, Richard A. M.FL 105th 01/07/1997 09/05/1997 09/18/1997 Confirmed 09/26/1997 nd 102 04/30/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Leighton, Ronald B. W.WA 107th 01/23/2002 10/07/2002 10/08/2002 Confirmed 11/14/2002 CRS-39 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 107 09/12/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Ludington, Thomas L. E.MI 108th 01/07/2003 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 th 109 02/14/2005 05/02/2006 05/11/2006 Confirmed 06/08/2006 95th 11/21/1977 -- -- Returned 12/15/1977 Mazzone, David A. MA th 95 01/26/1978 02/07/1978 02/07/1978 Confirmed 02/07/1978 99th 10/29/1985 -- -- Returned 12/20/1985 McAvoy, Thomas A. N.NY th 99 01/29/1986 02/05/1986 02/27/1986 Confirmed 03/03/1986 100th 03/14/1988 08/09/1988 10/05/1988 Returned 10/22/1988 st McGregor, James R. W.PA 101 10/15/1990 -- -- Returned 10/28/1990 102nd 01/08/1991 -- -- Returned 08/02/1991 th 98 09/11/1984 09/19/1984 09/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 Meredith, Ronald E. W.KY 99th 02/27/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 104 09/05/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Middlebrooks, Donald M. S.FL 105th 01/07/1997 03/18/1997 04/17/1997 Confirmed 05/23/1997 th 104 07/19/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Miller, Jeffrey T. S.CA 105th 01/07/1997 03/18/1997 04/17/1997 Confirmed 05/23/1997 th 107 07/10/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Mills, Michael P. N.MS 107th 09/04/2001 09/13/2001 10/04/2001 Confirmed 10/11/2001 th 104 12/21/1995 03/27/1996 04/25/1996 Returned 10/04/1996 Mollway, Susan O. HI 105th 01/07/1997 02/04/1998 04/30/1998 Confirmed 06/22/1998 th 104 05/09/1996 06/25/1996 06/27/1996 Returned 10/04/1996 Morrow, Margaret M. C.CA 105th 01/07/1997 03/18/1997 06/12/1997 Confirmed 02/11/1998 CRS-40 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 96 09/17/1980 -- -- Returned 12/16/1980 Nimmons, Ralph W., Jr. M.FL 102nd 05/23/1991 06/20/1991 06/27/1991 Confirmed 06/28/1991 th 105 04/29/1998 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 Norton, Lynette W.PA 106th 01/26/1999 -- -- Returned 12/15/2000 th 107 07/18/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Otero, S. James C.CA 108th 01/07/2003 01/29/2003 02/06/2003 Confirmed 02/10/2003 nd 102 09/24/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 O'Toole, George A., Jr. MA 104th 04/04/1995 05/04/1995 05/18/1995 Confirmed 05/25/1995 nd 102 09/17/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 N.E.W.O Payne, James H. 107th 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 K th 107 09/04/2001 10/04/2001 10/18/2001 Confirmed 10/23/2001 105th 05/11/1998 -- -- Returned 10/21/1998 Phillips, Virginia A. C.CA th 106 01/26/1999 10/26/1999 11/04/1999 Confirmed 11/10/1999 104th 08/02/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Pratt, Robert W. S.IA th 105 01/07/1997 03/18/1997 04/17/1997 Confirmed 05/23/1997 102nd 06/02/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 th Quarles, William D., Jr. MD 107 09/12/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 108th 01/07/2003 02/05/2003 02/27/2003 Confirmed 03/12/2003 th 99 10/03/1986 -- -- Returned 10/18/1986 Raggi, Reena E.NY 100th 01/20/1987 04/01/1987 04/29/1987 Confirmed 05/07/1987 th 107 08/02/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Reeves, Danny C. E.KY 107th 09/04/2001 11/07/2001 11/29/2001 Confirmed 12/06/2001 CRS-41 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 104 01/26/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Rodriguez, Anabelle PR 105th 03/21/1997 10/01/1998 -- Returned 10/21/1998 th 98 09/17/1984 09/26/1984 -- Returned 10/18/1984 Rodriguez, Joseph H. NJ 99th 02/28/1985 04/17/1985 05/02/1985 Confirmed 05/03/1985 th 107 01/23/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Rohlfing, Frederick W., III HI 108th 01/07/2003 -- -- Withdrawn 05/06/2004 th 108 04/28/2003 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 Ryan, Daniel P. E.MI 109th 02/14/2005 -- -- Withdrawn 03/30/2006 th 104 12/19/1995 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Schattman, Michael D. N.TX 105th 03/21/1997 -- -- Withdrawn 07/31/1998 th 108 09/15/2004 11/16/2004 -- Returned 12/08/2004 Seabright, J. Michael HI 109th 02/14/2005 -- 03/17/2005 Confirmed 04/27/2005 th 99 10/23/1985 11/22/1985 -- Returned 12/20/1985 03/13/1986 Motion to report favorably Sessions, Jefferson B., III S.AL 03/19/1986 (8-10), 06/05/1986 99th 01/29/1986 Motion to report without Withdrawn 07/31/1986 03/20/1986 recommendation (9-9), 05/06/1986 06/05/1986 nd 102 07/27/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Seybert, Joanna E.NY 103rd 09/24/1993 11/09/1993 11/18/1993 Confirmed 11/20/1993 th 108 11/05/2003 -- -- Returned 12/08/2004 Sheridan, Peter G. NJ 109th 02/14/2005 04/25/2006 05/04/2006 Confirmed 06/08/2006 CRS-42 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 95 11/22/1977 -- -- Returned 12/15/1977 Simmons, Paul A. W.PA 95th 01/26/1978 02/09/1978 04/05/1978 Confirmed 04/06/1978 103rd 09/22/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Snodgrass, John D. N.AL 104th 01/11/1995 -- -- Withdrawn 09/05/1995 th 104 05/15/1996 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Snyder, Christina A. C.CA 105th 01/07/1997 07/22/1997 09/18/1997 Confirmed 11/07/1997 98th 06/28/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 10/29/1985 11/07/1985 Sporkin, Stanley DC 99th 04/05/1985 11/15/1985 12/12/1985 Confirmed 12/16/1985 11/20/1985 12/10/1985 th 96 06/02/1980 08/05/1980 -- Returned 12/16/1980 Sprizzo, John E. S.NY 97th 07/29/1981 09/15/1981 09/23/1981 Confirmed 09/25/1981 th 107 12/19/2001 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Stanceu, Timothy C. TRADE 108th 01/07/2003 02/12/2003 02/27/2003 Confirmed 03/06/2003 rd 103 09/14/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Stein, Sidney H. S.NY 104th 01/11/1995 02/08/1995 02/23/1995 Confirmed 03/17/1995 th 104 09/29/1995 07/31/1996 -- Returned 10/04/1996 Sundram, Clarence J. N.NY 105th 01/07/1997 06/25/1997 -- Returned 10/21/1998 th 104 08/10/1995 -- -- Returned 10/04/1996 Tagle, Hilda G. S.TX 105th 03/21/1997 02/25/1998 03/05/1998 Confirmed 03/11/1998 CRS-43 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action rd 103 10/05/1994 -- -- Returned 11/14/1994 Thornburg, Lacy H. W.NC 104th 01/11/1995 02/08/1995 02/23/1995 Confirmed 03/17/1995 th 104 05/16/1996 07/31/1996 -- Returned 10/04/1996 Thrash, Thomas W., Jr. N.GA 105th 01/07/1997 05/07/1997 05/22/1997 Confirmed 07/31/1997 nd 102 11/27/1991 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Trager, David G. E.NY 103rd 08/06/1993 11/09/1993 11/18/1993 Confirmed 11/20/1993 th 107 10/10/2002 -- -- Returned 11/20/2002 Varlan, Thomas A. E.TN 108th 01/07/2003 02/12/2003 03/06/2003 Confirmed 03/13/2003 th 97 12/16/1982 -- -- Returned 12/23/1982 Vukasin, John P., Jr. N.CA 98th 01/31/1983 06/22/1983 07/21/1983 Returned 08/04/1983 th 98 08/08/1983 -- 09/15/1983 Confirmed 09/20/1983 100th 12/19/1987 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 st Walker, Vaughn R. N.CA 101 02/28/1989 -- -- Returned 08/04/1989 101st 09/07/1989 11/09/1989 11/16/1989 Confirmed 11/22/1989 th 98 10/05/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 Walter, Donald E. W.LA 99th 05/15/1985 06/19/1985 06/20/1985 Confirmed 07/10/1985 nd 102 03/20/1992 -- -- Returned 10/08/1992 Walter, John F. C.CA 107th 01/23/2002 04/11/2002 04/18/2002 Confirmed 04/25/2002 th 107 06/20/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Walton, Reggie B. DC 107th 09/04/2001 08/22/2001 09/06/2001 Confirmed 09/21/2001 st 101 09/21/1990 -- -- Returned 10/28/1990 Wanger, Oliver W. E.CA 102nd 01/08/1991 03/13/1991 03/21/1991 Confirmed 03/21/1991 CRS-44 Date of: Nominee's Name Court Congress Nomination Hearing Committee Motiona Final Action th 98 09/17/1984 09/26/1984 -- Returned 10/18/1984 Weber, Herman J. S.OH 99th 02/28/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 105 06/26/1997 05/14/1998 05/21/1998 Returned 10/21/1998 White, Ronnie L. E.MO Rejected (45-54), 106th 01/26/1999 -- 07/22/1999 10/05/1999 98th 10/05/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 Williams, Ann C. N.IL 99th 03/14/1985 03/26/1985 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 98 10/05/1984 -- -- Returned 10/18/1984 Wolf, Mark L. MA 99th 03/14/1985 03/20/1985 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 th 107 06/18/2001 -- -- Returned 08/03/2001 Wooten, Terry L. SC 107th 09/04/2001 08/27/2001b 11/08/2001 Confirmed 11/08/2001 th 98 09/11/1984 09/19/1984 09/28/1984 Returned 10/18/1984 Young, William G. MA 99th 03/14/1985 -- 04/03/1985 Confirmed 04/03/1985 Source: CRS Judicial Nominations Database. a. Unless otherwise noted, committee action date is the date that the motion to report favorably carried. b. The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings in advance of the second nomination of Terry L. Wooten. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For other versions of this document, see http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RL33839