Nomination and Confirmation of Lower Federal Court Judges in Presidential Election Years

Description

This report seeks to shed light on whether Senate processing of lower court nominations, particularly to the courts of appeals, has tended over recent decades to slow down in presidential election years. The report begins by reviewing recent debate, and historical events dating back to 1980, concerning whether the Senate and its Judiciary Committee customarily observe a practice referred to as the "Thurmond rule." Next, the report provides narratives on each presidential election year from 1980 to 2004, reviewing Senate and committee actions taken on court of appeals and district court nominations in each of the years. The report then … continued below

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Rutkus, Denis Steven & Scott, Kevin M. August 13, 2008.

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This report is part of the collection entitled: Congressional Research Service Reports and was provided by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department to the UNT Digital Library, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 104 times. More information about this report can be viewed below.

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Description

This report seeks to shed light on whether Senate processing of lower court nominations, particularly to the courts of appeals, has tended over recent decades to slow down in presidential election years. The report begins by reviewing recent debate, and historical events dating back to 1980, concerning whether the Senate and its Judiciary Committee customarily observe a practice referred to as the "Thurmond rule." Next, the report provides narratives on each presidential election year from 1980 to 2004, reviewing Senate and committee actions taken on court of appeals and district court nominations in each of the years. The report then compares these years quantitatively, examining the number and percent of nominations processed and the last dates of committee and Senate action taken.

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Congressional Research Service Reports

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is the public policy research arm of Congress. This legislative branch agency works exclusively for Members of Congress, their committees and their staff. This collection includes CRS reports from the mid-1960's through 2018—covering a variety of topics from agriculture to foreign policy to welfare.

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  • August 13, 2008

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  • Dec. 5, 2014, 9:57 a.m.

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Rutkus, Denis Steven & Scott, Kevin M. Nomination and Confirmation of Lower Federal Court Judges in Presidential Election Years, report, August 13, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462850/: accessed October 14, 2026), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.

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