United States House Committee on the Judiciary

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.

House Judiciary Committee
Standing committee
Active

United States House of Representatives
116th Congress
History
FormedJune 6, 1813
Leadership
ChairJerrold Nadler (D)
Since January 3, 2019
Ranking memberJim Jordan (R)
Since March 12, 2020
Vice chairMary Gay Scanlon (D)
Since January 3, 2019
Structure
Seats41
Political partiesMajority (24)
Minority (17)
Jurisdiction
Senate counterpartSenate Committee on the Judiciary

    In the 116th Congress, the chairman of the committee is Democrat Jerry Nadler of New York,[1] and the ranking minority member is Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio.

    History
    This article is part of a series on the
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    The committee was created on June 3, 1813[2] for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved articles of impeachment against Presidents in four instances: Andrew Johnson (1867 and 1868), Richard Nixon (1974), Bill Clinton (1998), and Donald Trump (2019).

    In the 115th Congress, the chairman of the committee was Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, and the ranking minority member was initially Democrat John Conyers of Michigan. On November 26, 2017, Conyers stepped down from his position as ranking member, while he faced an ethics investigation.[3] On November 28, 2017, Jerrold Nadler of New York was named as acting ranking member.

    In the 116th Congress, the House flipped from Republican to Democratic control. Doug Collins, a Republican from Georgia's 9th congressional district, became ranking member and served from 2019 to 2020. In early 2020, Collins stepped down from his leadership position when he became a candidate in the 2020 special election held to replace retiring Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson. Under House Republican rules, members must relinquish leadership positions if they launch a bid for another office.[4] Collins was succeeded as ranking member by Jim Jordan, who represents Ohio's 4th congressional district.

    Predecessor committees
    • Claims: Functions merged in 1946
    • Immigration and Naturalization: Functions merged in 1946
    • Internal Security: Functions merged in 1975
    • Patents: Functions merged in 1946
    • Revision of Laws: Functions merged in 1946
    • War Claims: Functions merged in 1946

    Members, 116th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Sources: H.Res. 24 (Chair), H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 46 (D), H.Res. 68 (R)

    Historical membership rosters

    115th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Sources: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 45 (D), H.Res. 51 (R) and H.Res. 95 (D)

    114th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Sources:

    112th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Sources:

    111th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Subcommittees
    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member[6]
    Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law David Cicilline (D-RI) Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
    The Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Steve Cohen (D-TN) Mike Johnson (R-LA)
    Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Karen Bass (D-CA) John Ratcliffe (R-TX)
    Immigration and Citizenship Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) Ken Buck (R-CO)
    Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Hank Johnson (D-GA) Martha Roby (R-AL)

    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,[7] and conducted hearings and investigations into consolidation of the Bell Telephone Companies.[8]

    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.[9] 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.[10] 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);[11] Ranking member: Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)[11]

    Established in September 2008,[12] the Judicial Task force on Judicial Impeachment was to look into charges against District Judge Thomas Porteous.[12] The investigation was not completed by the end of the 110th Congress, and it was reestablished after the 111th Congress convened in January 2009.[13] The responsibilities of the Task Force were expanded to include the case of Judge Samuel B. Kent,[14] leading to hearings[15] and his subsequent impeachment by the full House of Representatives.[16] The Task force finally voted to impeach Porteous on January 21, 2010.

    Projects

    Hearings

    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 –
    1832
    John Bell Democratic Tennessee 1832 –
    1834
    Thomas F. Foster Whig Georgia 1834 –
    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 Hyde Republican Illinois 1995 –
    2001
    Jim Sensenbrenner Republican Wisconsin 2001 –
    2007
    John Conyers Democratic Michigan 2007 –
    2011
    Lamar Smith Republican Texas 2011 –
    2013
    Bob Goodlatte Republican Virginia 2013 –
    2019
    Jerrold Nadler Democratic New York 2019 –
    present

    See also

    References
    1. Estepa, Jessica (November 29, 2017). "Rep. Jerrold Nadler takes over as top Democrat on House Judiciary". USA Today. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
    2. https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1800-1850/The-creation-of-the-Judiciary-Comm-1813_June_1/
    3. Wilkinson, Tracy (November 26, 2017). "Rep. John Conyers quits House committee post amid sexual harassment probe". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
    4. Beavers, Olivia; Brufke, Juliegrace (February 6, 2020). "House Republicans move Jordan to Judiciary, Meadows to Oversight". The Hill. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
    5. Bachus news release Dec. 19
    6. "Collins Announces Ranking Members for House Judiciary Subcommittees". House Judiciary Committee. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
    7. Judiciary Task Force on Antitrust
    8. House Antitrust Task Force, Antitrust Review.com
    9. Anti-Trust Panel to Examine XM-Sirius Merger United States House Committee on the Judiciary Press Release, February 27, 2007
    10. Rules of the House of Representatives, Rule X(b)(C), Page 12
    11. "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. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
    12. "House panel moves toward impeaching a judge". Associated Press. September 18, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
    13. Conyers, John Jr. (January 6, 2009). "H. Res. 15: Authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire whether the House should impeach G. Thomas Porteous, a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
    14. Conyers, John Jr. (May 29, 2009). "H. Res. 424: Authorizing and directing the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire whether the House should impeach Samuel B. Kent, a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas". United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
    15. "Victims allege years of sexual misconduct by federal judge". CNN. June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
    16. Powell, Stewart (June 19, 2009). "U.S. House impeaches Kent". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. 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...
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