United States House Committee on the Judiciary

President Gerald Ford appearing at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing regarding his pardon of Richard Nixon (October 17, 1974).

The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required.

In the 113th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, and the ranking minority member is Democrat John Conyers of Michigan. In prior years, Lamar S. Smith of Texas was the chairman, and prior to that John Conyers served as chairman.

History 1
- Predecessor committees 1.1
Members 2
- 113th Congress 2.1
- 112th Congress 2.2
Current subcommittees 3
Task forces 4
- Antitrust Task Force: 108th Congress 4.1
- Antitrust Task Force: 110th Congress 4.2
- Judicial Impeachment: 110th and 111th Congresses 4.3
Projects 5
Hearings 6
List of chairmen 7
See also 8
References 9
External links 10

History

The committee was created on June 6, 1813 for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved articles of impeachment against three Presidents: Andrew Johnson (1868), Richard Nixon (1974), and Bill Clinton (1998).

Predecessor committees

Claims: Functions merged in 1946
Immigration and Naturalization: Functions merged in 1946
Internal Security: Functions merged in 1975
- Un-American Activities: Functions merged into Internal Security in 1969
Patents: Functions merged in 1946
Revision of Laws: Functions merged in 1946
War Claims: Functions merged in 1946

Members

113th Congress

Majority (Republicans)	Minority (Democrats)
Bob Goodlatte, Virginia, Chairman (113th) Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Howard Coble, North Carolina Lamar S. Smith, Texas, former Chairman (112th) Steve Chabot, Ohio Spencer Bachus of Alabama ^[1] Darrell Issa, California Randy Forbes, Virginia Steve King, Iowa Trent Franks, Arizona Louie Gohmert, Texas Jim Jordan, Ohio Ted Poe, Texas Jason Chaffetz, Utah Tom Marino, Pennsylvania Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Mark Amodei, Nevada Raúl Labrador, Idaho Blake Farenthold, Texas George Holding, North Carolina Doug Collins, Georgia Ron DeSantis, Florida Jason T. Smith, Missouri	John Conyers, Michigan, Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler, New York Bobby Scott, Virginia Mel Watt, North Carolina Zoe Lofgren, California Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas Steve Cohen, Tennessee Hank Johnson, Georgia Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico Judy Chu, California Ted Deutch, Florida Luis Gutierrez, Illinois Karen Bass, California Cedric Richmond, Louisiana Suzan DelBene, Washington Joe Garcia, Florida Hakeem Jeffries, New York David Cicilline, Rhode Island

Sources:

Resolutions electing Republican members: H.Res. 6 (Chairs) and H.Res. 17 (R)^[2]
Resolutions electing Democratic members: H.Res. 7 (D) and H.Res. 22 (D)

112th Congress

Majority (Republicans)	Minority (Democrats)
Lamar S. Smith, Texas, Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Howard Coble, North Carolina Elton Gallegly, California Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Dan Lungren, California Steve Chabot, Ohio Darrell Issa, California Mike Pence, Indiana Randy Forbes, Virginia Steve King, Iowa Trent Franks, Arizona Louie Gohmert, Texas Jim Jordan, Ohio Ted Poe, Texas Jason Chaffetz, Utah Timothy Griffin, Arkansas Tom Marino, Pennsylvania Trey Gowdy, South Carolina Dennis A. Ross, Florida Sandy Adams, Florida Ben Quayle, Arizona Mark Amodei, Nevada	John Conyers, Michigan, Ranking Member Howard Berman, California Jerrold Nadler, New York Bobby Scott, Virginia Mel Watt, North Carolina Zoe Lofgren, California Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas Maxine Waters, California Steve Cohen, Tennessee Hank Johnson, Georgia Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico Michael Quigley, Illinois Judy Chu, California Ted Deutch, Florida Linda Sánchez, California Jared Polis, Colorado

Sources:

Resolutions electing Republican members: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 37 (Members)
Resolutions electing Democratic members H.Res. 7 (Ranking member), H.Res. 39 (Members)

Current subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
The Constitution and Civil Justice	Trent Franks (R-AZ)	Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet	Howard Coble (R-NC)	Mel Watt (D-NC)
Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations	Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)	Bobby Scott (D-VA)
Immigration Policy and Border Security	Trey Gowdy (R-SC)	Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law	Spencer Bachus (R-AL)	Steve Cohen (D-TN)

Source:a "Chairman Smith Announces Subcommittee Chairmen". January 7, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2011.

Task forces

Antitrust Task Force: 108th Congress

Chairman: Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI); Ranking member: John Conyers (D-MI)

The Antitrust Task Force during the 108th Congress existed from March 26, 2003, to September 26, 2003. All Judiciary Committee Members also served as members of the Task Force,^[3] and conducted hearings and investigations into consolidation of the Bell Telephone Companies.^[4]

Antitrust Task Force: 110th Congress

Chairman: John Conyers (D-MI); Ranking member: Steve Chabot (R-OH)

The Antitrust Task Force during the 110th Congress was established February 28, 2007, as a temporary subcommittee to examine the pending merger between XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.^[5] The task force operated like any other subcommittee, except that it only has a six-month term. House Rules limit each full committee to just five subcommittees, and any task force, special subcommittee, or other subunit of a standing committee that is established for a cumulative period longer than six months in a Congress counts against that total.^[6] A longer term for the task force would cause the Judiciary Committee to exceed this limit.

Judicial Impeachment: 110th and 111th Congresses

Chairman: Adam Schiff (D-CA);^[7] Ranking member: Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)^[7]

Established in September 2008,^[8] the Judicial Task force on Judicial Impeachment was to look into charges against District Judge Thomas Porteous.^[8] The investigation was not completed by the end of the 110th Congress, and it was reestablished after the 111th Congress convened in January 2009.^[9] The responsibilities of the Task Force were expanded to include the case of Judge Samuel B. Kent,^[10] leading to hearings^[11] and his subsequent impeachment by the full House of Representatives.^[12] The Task force finally voted to impeach Porteous on January 21, 2010.

Projects

Administrative Law, Process and Procedure Project (2005–2006)

Hearings

The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials (hearing) (2007)
Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2009, HR 569 (111th Congress) (2009). Congress holds a hearing to consider granting members of the U.S. Armed Forces access to the Supreme Court of the United States.

List of chairmen

Chairman	Party	State	Years
Charles J. Ingersoll	Democratic-Republican	Pennsylvania	1813 – 1815
Hugh Nelson	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	1815 – 1819
John Sergeant	Democratic-Republican	Pennsylvania	1819 – 1822
Hugh Nelson	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	1822 – 1823
Daniel Webster	Federalist	Massachusetts	1823 – 1827
Philip P. Barbour	Democratic	Virginia	1827 – 1829
James Buchanan	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1829 – 1831
Warren R. Davis	Democratic	South Carolina	1831 – 1833
Thomas F. Foster	Whig	Georgia	1833 – 1835
Samuel Beardsley	Democratic	New York	1835 – 1836
Francis Thomas	Democratic	Maryland	1836 – 1839
John Sergeant	Whig	Pennsylvania	1839 – 1841
Daniel D. Barnard	Whig	New York	1841 – 1843
William Wilkins	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1843 – 1844
Romulus M. Saunders	Democratic	North Carolina	1844 – 1845
George O. Rathbun	Democratic	New York	1845 – 1847
Joseph R. Ingersoll	Whig	Pennsylvania	1847 – 1849
James Thompson	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1849 – 1851
James X. McLanahan	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1851 – 1853
Frederick P. Stanton	Democratic	Tennessee	1853 – 1855
George A. Simmons	Whig & Republican	New York	1855 – 1857
George S. Houston	Democratic	Alabama	1857 – 1859
John Hickman	Republican	Pennsylvania	1859 – 1863
James F. Wilson	Republican	Iowa	1863 – 1869
John A. Bingham	Republican	Ohio	1869 – 1873
Benjamin F. Butler	Republican	Massachusetts	1873 – 1875
James P. Knott	Democratic	Kentucky	1875 – 1881
Thomas Brackett Reed	Republican	Maine	1881 – 1883
John R. Tucker	Democratic	Virginia	1883 – 1887
David B. Culberson	Democratic	Texas	1887 – 1889
Ezra B. Taylor	Republican	Ohio	1889 – 1891
David B. Culberson	Democratic	Texas	1891 – 1895
David B. Henderson	Republican	Iowa	1895 – 1899
George W. Ray	Republican	New York	1899 – 1903
John J. Jenkins	Republican	Wisconsin	1903 – 1909
Richard W. Parker	Republican	New Jersey	1909 – 1911
Henry De Lamar Clayton	Democratic	Alabama	1911 – 1914
Edwin Y. Webb	Democratic	North Carolina	1914 – 1919
Andrew J. Volstead	Republican	Minnesota	1919 – 1923
George S. Graham	Republican	Pennsylvania	1923 – 1931
Hatton W. Sumners	Democratic	Texas	1931 – 1947
Earl C. Michener	Republican	Michigan	1947 – 1949
Emanuel Celler	Democratic	New York	1949 – 1953
Chauncey W. Reed	Republican	Illinois	1953 – 1955
Emanuel Celler	Democratic	New York	1955 – 1973
Peter W. Rodino, Jr.	Democratic	New Jersey	1973 – 1989
Jack Brooks	Democratic	Texas	1989 – 1995
Henry J. Hyde	Republican	Illinois	1995 – 2001
Jim Sensenbrenner	Republican	Wisconsin	2001 – 2007
John Conyers	Democratic	Michigan	2007 – 2011
Lamar S. Smith	Republican	Texas	2011 – 2013
Bob Goodlatte	Republican	Virginia	2013 – Present

References

^ Mr. Bachus was not listed as a 112th Committee member because he was on leave during his leadership of the House Financial Services Committee.
^ Bachus news release Dec. 19
^ Judiciary Task Force on Antitrust
^ House Antitrust Task Force, Antitrust Review.com
^ Anti-Trust Panel to Examine XM-Sirius Merger United States House Committee on the Judiciary Press Release, February 27, 2007
^ Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule X(b)(C), Page 12
^ ^a ^b "House Judiciary Committee Announces Retention of Alan Baron to Lead Inquiry into Possible Impeachment of Judge Porteous" (Press release). U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. October 2, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ ^a ^b "House panel moves toward impeaching a judge". Associated Press. September 18, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^
^
^ "Victims allege years of sexual misconduct by federal judge". CNN. June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
^ Powell, Stewart (June 19, 2009). "U.S. House impeaches Kent". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 27, 2009. In action so rare it has been carried out only 14 times since 1803, the House on Friday impeached a federal judge — imprisoned U.S. District Court Judge Samuel B. Kent... (Archived by WebCite at webcitation.org)

External links

Committee on the Judiciary website
Congressional Directory including lists of past memberships
House Document No. 109-153, A History of the Committee on the Judiciary 1813–2006

Current United States congressional committees

Senate (list)	Aging (Special) Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Ethics (Select) Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Indian Affairs Intelligence (Select) Judiciary Narcotics (Caucus) Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans' Affairs

House (list)	Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Budget Education and the Workforce Energy and Commerce Ethics Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi (Select) Financial Services Foreign Affairs Homeland Security House Administration Intelligence (Permanent Select) Judiciary Natural Resources Oversight and Government Reform Rules Science, Space and Technology Small Business Transportation and Infrastructure Veterans' Affairs Ways and Means (Whole)

Joint (list)	(Conference) Economic Inaugural Ceremonies (Special) Library Printing Taxation

Defunct committees

United States House Committee on the Judiciary