United States House Committee on the Judiciary
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. congressional committee The United States 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, federal administrative agencies, and federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is often involved in the impeachment process against federal officials. Because of the legal nature of its oversight, committee members usually have a legal background, but this is not required.
In the 119th Congress, the chair of the committee is Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio, and the ranking minority member is Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
History
Template:United States House of Representatives The committee was created on June 3, 1813,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for the purpose of considering legislation related to the judicial system. This committee approved impeachment resolutions/articles of impeachment against presidents in four instances: against Andrew Johnson (in 1867), Richard Nixon (in 1974), Bill Clinton (in 1998), and Donald Trump (in 2019).
In the 115th Congress, the chair 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 U.S. senator Johnny Isakson. Under House Republican rules, members must relinquish leadership positions if they launch a bid for another office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Collins was succeeded as ranking member by Jordan, who represents Ohio's 4th congressional district, but who has never taken a bar examination or practiced law.
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, 119th Congress
Resolutions electing members: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (Ranking Member), Template:USBill (R), Template:USBill (D)
Subcommittees
| Subcommittee | Chair<ref name=119R>Template:Cite web</ref> | Ranking Member<ref name=119D>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust | Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) |
| The Constitution and Limited Government | Chip Roy (R-TX) | Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) |
| Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet | Darrell Issa (R-CA) | Hank Johnson (D-GA) |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance | Andy Biggs (R-AZ) | Lucy McBath (D-GA) |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement | Tom McClintock (R-CA) | Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) |
| Oversight | Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) | Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) |
Committee leadership
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Historical membership rosters
118th Congress
| Majority | Minority |
|---|---|
valign=top Template:Party shading/Republican |
|
valign=top Template:Party shading/Democratic |
|
Resolutions electing members: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (Ranking Member), Template:USBill (R), Template:USBill (D), Template:USBill (D), Template:USBill (R), Template:USBill (García), Template:USBill (Carter)
- Subcommittees
| Subcommittee | Chair<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Ranking Member<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust | Thomas Massie (R-KY) | David Cicilline (D-RI) (until 5/31/23) Lou Correa (D-CA) (from 5/31/23) |
| The Constitution and Limited Government | Mike Johnson (R-LA) (until 10/25/23) Chip Roy (R-TX) (from 10/26/23) |
Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) |
| Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet | Darrell Issa (R-CA) | Hank Johnson (D-GA) |
| Crime and Federal Government Surveillance | Andy Biggs (R-AZ) | Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) (until 7/19/24) |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement | Tom McClintock (R-CA) | Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) |
| Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight | Ben Cline (R-VA) | Eric Swalwell (D-CA) |
| Weaponization of the Federal Government (Select) | Jim Jordan (R-OH) | Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) |
117th Congress
Resolutions electing members: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (Ranking Member), Template:USBill (D), Template:USBill (R)
- Subcommittees
| Subcommittee | Chair<ref>Chairman Nadler Welcomes New Democratic Members and Announces Democratic Subcommittee Assignments for 117th Congress</ref> | Ranking Member<ref>Ranking Member Jordan Announces Republican Subcommittee Assignments for 117th Congress</ref> |
|---|---|---|
| Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law | Ken Buck (R-CO) | David Cicilline (D-RI) |
| The Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties | Mike Johnson (R-LA) | Steve Cohen (D-TN) |
| Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet | Darrell Issa (R-CA) | Hank Johnson (D-GA) |
| Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security | Andy Biggs (R-AZ) | Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) |
| Immigration and Citizenship | Tom McClintock (R-CA) | Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) |
| Weaponization of the Federal Government | Jim Jordan (R-OH) | Template:TBA |
116th Congress
| Majority | Minority |
|---|---|
valign=top Template:Party shading/Democratic |
|
valign=top Template:Party shading/Republican |
|
Sources: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (Ranking Member), Template:USBill (D), Template:USBill (R), Template:USBill (R), Template:USBill (R)
- Subcommittees
| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet | Hank Johnson (D-GA) | Martha Roby (R-AL) |
| Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security | Karen Bass (D-CA) | John Ratcliffe (R-TX) |
| Immigration and Citizenship | Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) | Ken Buck (R-CO) |
115th Congress
Sources: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (D), Template:USBill (R) and Template:USBill (D)
114th Congress
Sources:
- Resolutions electing Republican members: Template:USBill (Chairs) and Template:USBill (R)<ref>Bachus news release Dec. 19</ref>
- Resolutions electing Democratic members: Template:USBill (D) and Template:USBill (D)
112th Congress
Sources:
- Resolutions electing Republican members: Template:USBill (Chair), Template:USBill (Members)
- Resolutions electing Democratic members Template:USBill (Ranking member), Template:USBill (Members)
111th Congress
Task forces
Antitrust Task Force: 108th Congress
Chair: 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and conducted hearings and investigations into consolidation of the Bell Telephone Companies.<ref>House Antitrust Task Force, Antitrust Review.com</ref>
Antitrust Task Force: 110th Congress
Chair: 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.<ref>Anti-Trust Panel to Examine XM-Sirius Merger United States House Committee on the Judiciary Press Release, February 27, 2007</ref> 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.<ref>Rules of the House of Representatives Template:Webarchive, Rule X(b)(C), Page 12</ref> A longer term for the task force would cause the Judiciary Committee to exceed this limit.
Judicial Impeachment: 110th and 111th Congresses
Chair: Adam Schiff (D-CA)<ref name="judiciarypr">Template:Cite press release</ref> Ranking member: Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)<ref name="judiciarypr" />
Established in September 2008,<ref name=ap>Template:Cite news</ref> the Judicial Task force on Judicial Impeachment was to look into charges against district judge Thomas Porteous.<ref name=ap/> The investigation was not completed by the end of the 110th Congress, and it was reestablished after the 111th Congress convened in January 2009.<ref name="porteous">Template:Cite web</ref> The responsibilities of the Task Force were expanded to include the case of Judge Samuel B. Kent,<ref name="kent">Template:Cite web</ref> leading to hearings<ref name="cnn">Template:Cite web</ref> and his subsequent impeachment by the full House of Representatives.<ref name=impeach>Template:Cite news</ref> The task force finally voted to impeach Porteous on January 21, 2010.
Projects
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.
See also
- List of United States House of Representatives committees
- United States congressional committee
- United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
References
External links
- Committee on the Judiciary website (Archive)
- House Judiciary Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
- Congressional Directory including lists of past memberships
- House Document No. 109-153, A History of the Committee on the Judiciary 1813–2006
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