# U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations by President George W. Bush During the 107th-109th Congresses

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## Record

- **Collection:** Congressional research report
- **Document type:** CRS Report
- **Published:** January 23, 2007
- **Citation:** RL31868

## Text

Order Code RL31868

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations
by President George W. Bush
During the 107th-109th Congresses

Updated January 23, 2007

Denis Steven Rutkus
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Kevin M. Scott
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Maureen Bearden
Information Research Specialist
Knowledge Services Group

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations by
President George W. Bush
During the 107th - 109th Congresses
Summary
During his presidency, as of the final adjournment of the 109th Congress, 51 of
President George W. Bush’s 68 nominees to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals
received Senate confirmation. Of the 17 nominees not confirmed, the nominations
of three were withdrawn by the President, and the remaining 14 were returned at the
end of a Congress; however, four of the 14, after having their nominations returned
at the end of the 109th Congress, were renominated at the start of the 110th Congress.
None of President Bush’s circuit nominees has been rejected in a Senate confirmation
vote. Two were defeated in committee votes, in the 107th Congress, although both
were renominated in the 108th Congress, where one was confirmed.
In the 108th Congress, the Senate could not agree to close debate on 10 circuit
court nominees. Following controversy over the propriety of filibusters on judicial
nominations, a compromise was reached in the 109th Congress which resulted in
confirmation votes for five of the 10 nominees. The other five, however, failed to
gain confirmation. Two of the 10 nominees were given temporary recess
appointments by President Bush. After the appointment of one of these nominees
expired at the end of the Congress, he was not renominated in the 109th Congress.
The other recess appointee, prior to the expiration of his appointment, was
renominated in the 109th Congress and subsequently confirmed.
Of President Bush’s 237 nominees to the U.S. district courts, through the end
of the 109th Congress, 206 were confirmed (185 in the first Congress in which they
were nominated). Of the 31 not confirmed, the nominations of three were withdrawn,
and the other 28 were returned at the end of the 109th Congress. Twenty-four of the
28 had been renominated in the 110th Congress, as of January 19, 2007. None of
President Bush’s district court nominees was defeated in a committee vote or
rejected in a Senate confirmation vote.
President Bush’s circuit nominees, like those of most other recent Presidents,
have had more difficulty than his district nominees in receiving Senate confirmation.
As of the close of the 109th Congress, 75.0% of his circuit nominees had been
confirmed, compared with 86.9% of his district nominees. The average (mean) time
elapsed between first nomination and confirmation for his circuit nominees was 366
days, more than twice as much as the corresponding time interval of 171 days for
district nominees. With recent presidencies, the average time taken for circuit
nominees to be confirmed has risen steadily — from an average time of 68 days, 104
days, 249 days, and 366 days, respectively for the circuit nominees of Presidents
Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush. With
recent presidencies, a steady, but less dramatic rise has also occurred in the average
time taken for district nominees to be confirmed.
This report will be updated upon the final adjournment of the 110th Congress.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Judicial Appointment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Structure and Contents of the Nominee and Nominations Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Nominee Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Nominations Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Statistical Findings from the Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Circuit Court Nominees During the Presidency of George W. Bush . . . . . . 10
Nominees Failing to Receive Senate Votes after Unsuccessful
Cloture Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Recess Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Nominees Defeated in Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Length in Time of the Appointment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
President Bush’s Circuit Court Nominations During
Particular Congresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The 107th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The 108th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The 109th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
District Court Nominees During the Presidency of George W. Bush . . . . . 20
Confirmed Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Withdrawn Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
President Bush’s District Court Nominations During
Particular Congresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The 107th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The 108th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The 109th Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Comparison of President Bush’s Circuit Court Nominations with
His District Court Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Comparison of President Bush’s Circuit and District Nomination Statistics
with Those of Other Recent Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Number of Nominees, Number Confirmed, and Percent Confirmed . 28
Circuit Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
District Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Circuit Court Nominees: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Final Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
District Court Nominees: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Final Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Appendix 1: President George W. Bush’s Nominees to the
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, 107th-109th Congresses
(January 20, 2001-December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Appendix 2. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals During the 107th Congress
(January 20, 2001-November 20, 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Appendix 3. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals During the 108th Congress
(January 7, 2003-December 8, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Appendix 4. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals During the 109th Congress
(January 4, 2005 - December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Appendix 5: President George W. Bush’s Nominees to the
U.S. District Courts, 107th-109th Congresses
(January 20, 2001-December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Appendix 6. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. District Courts During the 107th Congress
(January 20, 2001-November 20, 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Appendix 7. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. District Courts During the 108th Congress
(January 7, 2003-December 8, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Appendix 8. President George W. Bush’s Nominations to the
U.S. District Courts During the 109th Congress
(January 4, 2005-December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

List of Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Circuit Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation, 95th Congress to 109th Congress (January 20, 1977
- December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 2. U.S. District Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation, 95th Congress to 109th Congress (January 20, 1977
- December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Figure 3. Average Time to Disposition, Confirmed and Unconfirmed Nominees to
the U.S. Courts of Appeals, by President (January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 4. Average Time to Disposition, Confirmed and Unconfirmed Nominees to
the U.S. District Courts, by President (January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006)
38

List of Tables
Table 1. Mean and Median Number of Days Elapsed from First Nomination
to Disposition of Last Nomination for President George W. Bush’s
Nominees to U.S. Circuit or District Court Judgeships
(January 20, 2001 - December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Table 2. Number of Congresses in Which Persons Were Nominated by
President George W. Bush to U.S. Circuit or District Court Judgeships
(January 20, 2001 - December 9, 2006) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table 3. U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominees of Five Most Recent
Presidents (January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006): Total and Per Year
Number of Nominees, Total and Per Year Number Confirmed, and
Percent of Total Confirmed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations
by President George W. Bush
During the 107th-109th Congresses
Introduction
In recent years, the process by which lower federal court judges are nominated
by the President and confirmed by the Senate has been of increasing interest to
Congress. In order to provide Congress with a continuing overview of this process,
this report provides statistics on all of President George W. Bush’s nominations to
U.S. courts of appeals and U.S. district courts during the 107th, 108th, and 109th
Congresses, and any actions taken on these nominations by the Senate Judiciary
Committee and the full Senate.1
U.S. courts of appeals review appeals from federal trial court opinions and are
empowered to review and enforce the orders of many administrative agencies. Cases
presented to these courts are generally considered by judges sitting in three-member
panels. Altogether, 179 permanent appellate court judgeships are authorized by law.
Courts within the courts of appeals system are often called “circuit courts,” because
they are divided into 12 geographic circuits and an additional nationwide circuit
having specialized subject matter jurisdiction. In this report, nominations to U.S.
courts of appeals judgeships are referred to as “circuit court nominations.”
U.S. district courts are the trial courts of general federal jurisdiction. Each state
has at least one district court, while some states have as many as four. There are 678
district court judgeships authorized by law, including those for the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands,
and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.2

1

This report is in keeping with earlier CRS reports which tracked actions taken on judicial
nominations by other recent Presidents. See CRS Report 98-510, Judicial Nominations by
President Clinton During the 103rd-106th Congresses, by Denis Steven Rutkus, and CRS
Report 93-395, President [George H. W.] Bush’s Judicial Nominations During the 101st102nd Congresses, by Denis Steven Rutkus.
2

The 678 total consists of 667 permanently authorized judgeships and 11 “temporary”
judgeships (which, pursuant to statute, temporarily increase the number of judgeships for
specified judicial districts, with these districts reverting back to the permanently authorized
number of judgeships at a future time fixed by the statute — typically, when, after a
specified number of years, a judgeship in the district is vacated). All but four of the 678
judgeships entail lifetime appointments. The four exceptions are the one judgeship each
in Guam and the Northern Marianas, and the two in the Virgin Islands, to which judges are
appointed for 10-year terms.

CRS-2
President Bush’s nominations to these two court systems are listed in eight
appendix tables at the end of this report — Appendices 1-4 for circuit court
nominations, and Appendices 5-8 for district court nominations. Appendices 1 and
5 list all the persons nominated by President Bush during his presidency, as of
December 9, 2006,3 to the circuit and district courts, respectively. The other six
tables list all of the circuit and district court nominations made by President Bush
during each Congress, — Appendices 2, 3, and 4 for circuit court nominations in the
107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses, respectively; and Appendices 6, 7, and 8 for
district court nominations in the same respective Congresses.
Appendices 1-8, it should be emphasized, account for every instance in which
a district or circuit court nomination was made, including renominations of
individuals to the same judgeship. As discussed below, some of President Bush’s
nominees were nominated to a circuit or district judgeship more than once within a
Congress, or nominated to the judgeship in more than one Congress. Accordingly,
discussion in this report regarding the number of nominations made by President
Bush to the circuit or district courts counts not only the initial nomination of a person
to a judgeship but any renominations as well. By contrast, discussion regarding the
actual number of persons nominated (or nominees) counts individual nominees only
once, even if they were nominated to the same judgeship more than once.
Within the text of this report are various statistical tables and bar graphs, using
data derived from Appendices 1-8. Table 1 presents, for President Bush’s circuit
and district nominees, the average and median number of days that elapsed from their
first nomination to disposition of their last nomination. Table 2 breaks down the
total number of persons nominated by President Bush to circuit and district court
judgeships by the number of Congresses in which they were nominated. Table 3
provides statistics comparing President Bush’s judicial nominations with those of his
four immediate predecessors in the White House. Table 3 shows, among other
things, the total number of persons nominated by President Bush — as well as by
each of the four previous Presidents — to district and circuit court judgeships and the
number and percentage of them who were confirmed. Figures 1 and 2 show, for
circuit and district nominations respectively, the average number of days that elapsed
from nomination date to confirmation, during each Congress from the 95th to the
109th, indicating which presidency coincided in time with each Congress. Figures
3 and 4 show, respectively, for the circuit and district court nominees of the five most
recent Presidents, the average number of days that elapsed from their first nomination
to final disposition of their last nomination.
The following text provides (1) a brief overview of the principal steps in the
judicial appointment process; (2) a more detailed description of the structure and
contents of Appendices 1-8 and the methodology used in gathering the tabular data;
and (3) a discussion of selected appointment statistics for circuit and district court
nominees and nominations in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses, which are
derived from, or presented in, the appendices.4
3
4

December 9, 2006, is the date of final adjournment of the 109th Congress.

The statistics include total number of nominees to district and circuit judgeships; number
of nominees confirmed; number of nominations (including re-nominations of nominees);
(continued...)

CRS-3
This report focuses on judicial nominations made by the President and on Senate
actions taken on the nominations by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate.
On rare occasions, appointments to federal courts also have been made without
submitting a nomination to the Senate, when a President exercises his constitutional
power to make “recess appointments.” Specifically, Article II, Section 2, clause 3
of the Constitution of the United States empowers the President to “fill up all
Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”5 President Bush
thus far during his presidency has made two recess appointments to circuit courts and
none to district courts.6

The Judicial Appointment Process
Under the Constitution of the United States, the President and the Senate share
the responsibility for filling vacancies within the federal judiciary.7 While it is the
President who nominates persons to fill federal judgeships, the appointment of each
nominee also requires Senate confirmation. Although not mentioned in the
Constitution, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary also plays an important role
midway in the process — after the President selects, but before the Senate as a whole
considers, the nominee.
The process for making lifetime appointments to U.S. district court and circuit
courts of appeals judgeships entails the same formal steps as those involved in the

4

(...continued)
number receiving committee hearings, committee votes, and Senate or other final action; and
average time taken to conduct hearings, committee votes, and Senate votes on the
nominations. Careful distinction is made in the text between number of nominations
(including renominations) and number of persons actually nominated.

5

See CRS Report RS21308, Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by Henry
B. Hogue.

6

On Jan. 26, 2004, President Bush recess-appointed Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Pickering’s appointment expired
on Dec. 8, 2004, at the end of the second session of the 108th Congress, and he retired. On
Feb. 20, 2004, President Bush recess-appointed William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama to the
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Pryor’s recess appointment was to last until the
end of the first session of the 109th Congress; however, before that appointment expired,
Judge Pryor was renominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate on June 9,
2005.
For more information on judicial recess appointments, see CRS Report RS22039,
Federal Recess Judges, by Louis Fisher; CRS Report RL33009, Recess Appointments: A
Legal Overview, by T.J. Halstead; and Henry B. Hogue, “The Law: Recess Appointments
to Article III Courts,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, vol. 34, Sept. 2004, pp. 656-673.
7

Article II, Section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution provides that the President “shall
nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... 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....”

CRS-4
appointment of justices to the Supreme Court.8 The process officially begins when
the President selects someone to fill a judicial vacancy, submitting a nomination in
writing to the Senate. Usually on the same day it is received by the Senate, the
nomination is referred to the Committee on the Judiciary (the Senate committee
having jurisdiction over district and circuit, as well as most other federal, court
nominations). The Judiciary Committee then holds a hearing on the nomination.
The committee subsequently meets to vote on whether to report the nomination to the
full Senate. A committee vote to report (even a vote to report with an unfavorable
recommendation) sends the nomination forward to be considered by the Senate as a
whole, while a vote against reporting (historically, a very rare occurrence) prevents
the nomination from going forward, and in effect defeats the nomination in
committee. The final step in the appointment process occurs when the Senate votes
to confirm or disapprove the nomination. A vote to confirm requires a simple
majority of Senators present and voting. If the Senate votes in the negative on
whether to confirm, the nomination is defeated, and a resolution of disapproval is
forwarded to the President.
As with nominations in general, judicial nominations sometimes fail to advance
through each procedural step in the appointment process. After referral to
committee, a nomination might not receive a hearing or, after receiving a hearing,
might not receive a committee vote on whether it should be reported. Even if
favorably reported by committee, the nomination might not receive a vote by the
Senate on whether to confirm. A nomination, for instance, will not, under Senate
rules, receive a vote on whether to confirm if some Senators oppose taking such a
vote and a “super-majority” of three-fifths of the full membership of the Senate fails
to vote in favor of a motion to close debate on the nomination.9 If it fails to receive
a Senate vote, the nomination ultimately will be either withdrawn by the President
or returned to the President by the Secretary of the Senate upon a Senate adjournment
or recess of more than 30 days.10

8

See CRS Report RL31989, Supreme Court Appointment Process: Roles of the President,
Judiciary Committee, and Senate, by Denis Steven Rutkus; and CRS Report RL31980,
Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by Elizabeth
Rybicki.
9

See CRS Report RL32878, Cloture Attempts on Nominations, by Richard S. Beth and
Betsy Palmer.
10

Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, Standing Rules of the Senate, provides, in part, that “if the
Senate shall adjourn or take a recess for more than thirty days, all nominations pending and
not finally acted upon at the time of taking such adjournment or recess shall be returned by
the Secretary to the President and shall not again be considered unless they shall again be
made to the Senate by the President.”

CRS-5

Structure and Contents of the Nominee and
Nominations Tables
The tables at the end of this report, Appendices 1-8, were generated from a CRS
database of nomination dates and actions created by Kevin M. Scott, CRS Analyst
in American National Government.11 The data for the CRS database were collected
primarily from the Presidential Nominations database in the Legislative Information
System of the U.S. Congress (LIS)12 and from daily editions of volumes 147-152 of
the Congressional Record (for the years 2001-2006).

Nominee Tables
As noted previously, Appendices 1 and 5 list, alphabetically, the names of all
persons nominated by George W. Bush during his presidency (through the end of the
109th Congress) to the circuit courts and to the district courts. These tables show the
following for each nominee:
!
!
!
!
!
!

how often and when the person was nominated to a particular
judgeship;
dates of committee hearings and committee action on all
nominations;
whether and when the nominee was confirmed;
if confirmed, the number of days that elapsed between the date of the
first nomination and the confirmation;
the outcome of the person’s most recent nomination, if the final
disposition was not one of confirmation;13
if not confirmed, the number of days that elapsed between the date of
the person’s first nomination and the final outcome of the person’s
most recent nomination.

The tables at the end also present, for all confirmed nominees, the average
number of days that elapsed between their first nomination and their confirmation, and
for all unconfirmed nominees, the average number of days that elapsed between their
first nomination and final disposition of their most recent nomination.

11

The database was created in part with the benefit of earlier nominations research
(conducted for previous versions of this report) by Mitchel A. Sollenberger, former CRS
Analyst in American National Government.
12

Available at [http://www.congress.gov/nomis/search.html]. The Presidential Nominations
database, covering the 97th through the 109th Congresses, provides for each nomination the
name of the nominee, nominee’s state of residence, appointive position, date of nomination,
hearing date, date of committee vote, date of Senate action, and type of Senate vote
(including roll call vote numbers).
13

For each nominee not confirmed as of the close of the 109th Congress, his or her last
nomination was either (1) returned to the President when the Senate adjourned for, or took
a recess of, more than 30 days, or (2) withdrawn by the President. Columns in Appendices
1 and 5 indicate the last nominations of nominees which were returned or withdrawn, the
dates of such actions, and the Congress in which the actions occurred.

CRS-6
Appendices 1 and 5 show all of the persons nominated by President Bush to the
circuit and district courts. These tables, however, do not provide comprehensive
information on committee and full Senate actions taken on these individuals’
nominations — such as Senate procedural votes and roll call votes on their
nominations, where Senate votes were by roll call. Detailed information of this sort
is provided in Appendices 2-4 (for circuit nominations) and 6-8 (for district
nominations).

Nominations Tables
The first six years of the presidency of George W. Bush roughly coincided in
time with three Congresses — the 107th Congress (2001-2002), the 108th (2003-2004),
and the 109th (2005-2006). Six tables list all of the circuit and district court
nominations made by President Bush during each of the three Congresses, and any
committee or Senate actions taken on the nominations. Appendices 2, 3, and 4
provide this information for circuit court nominations in the 107th, 108th, and 109th
Congresses, respectively, and Appendices 6, 7, and 8 do so for district court
nominations in the same respective Congresses.14
Nominations in all six of these tables are listed in chronological order according
to the date on which each nomination was received by the Senate. The tables show
how far along each nomination progressed in the appointment process and how many
days elapsed in the process. The procedural progress of each nomination is shown by
separate columns which indicate, respectively, the date on which any of the following
occurred:
!
!
!

the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the nomination;
the Judiciary Committee voted to report or take other action on the
nomination;
the Senate voted for confirmation, or some other action occurred.

In the “final action” column, a date by itself indicates that the Senate confirmed
the nominee by voice vote or by unanimous consent. A confirmation date with a vote
tally underneath indicates that Senate confirmation was by a roll call vote. This
column also shows the final disposition of nominations failing to receive Senate
confirmation. An entry of “Returned, 11/20/02,” for example, indicates that the
nomination was returned to the President on November 20, 2002 (upon the final
adjournment of the 107th Congress).15 An entry of “Withdrawn 03/19/01,” as another
example, indicates that, on that date, the nomination was withdrawn by the

14

Appendix 2 excludes from its listing nine circuit court nominations submitted at the start
of the 107th Congress by outgoing President William J. Clinton. These nominations were
submitted at the very beginning of the 107th Congress but in the final weeks of President
Clinton’s second term. All nine of these nominations were withdrawn by President Bush
on Mar. 19, 2001, although one of the nine nominees, Roger L. Gregory of Virginia, was
renominated by President Bush on May 9, 2001, and confirmed by the Senate on July 20,
2001.
15

Each such return occurs pursuant to Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, which, as explained
earlier, provides for nominations to be returned to the President if the Senate adjourns or
takes a recess for more than 30 days.

CRS-7
President.16 The dates and roll call votes of other procedural actions affecting
nominations, such as motions to close debate, also have been entered in the “final
action” column.
The tables also show, for each nomination, the length of time that passed before
a committee hearing, committee vote, or final action took place. For each nomination,
separate columns present the number of days which elapsed between the Senate’s
receipt of the nomination and the dates on which it received a hearing, committee
vote, or Senate vote. Also, at the bottom of each of these three columns, the tables
show the average number of days which elapsed between the President’s submission
of judicial nominations to the Senate and the dates on which the nominations received
hearings, committee votes, or Senate votes. Each elapsed time average is shown in
two forms — as the mean number, and as the median number, of elapsed days.17
Although the arithmetic mean is the true “average” number, it has the disadvantage
of being skewed by extremely high or low values in a distribution of numbers.
“Loosely speaking,” one statistician has noted, “the median corresponds more closely
than the mean to the middle of a distribution [of a group of numbers]. It is unaffected
by extreme values.”18

16

A President may withdraw a nomination for any number of reasons. The Mar. 19, 2001,
withdrawal by President Bush of nine nominations submitted earlier by President William
J. Clinton, mentioned in a table note to Appendix 2, was in keeping with the usual practice
of incoming Presidents to withdraw pending nominations submitted by their predecessors.
Presidents also sometimes withdraw their own nominations. A President might do so, for
example, if the Senate committee to which the nomination has been referred either has voted
against reporting the nomination to the Senate, or has made clear its intention not to act on
the nomination; if the nomination, even if reported, is likely to face substantial opposition
on the Senate floor; or if the nominee has requested that the nomination be withdrawn. By
the end of the 109th Congress, President Bush had withdrawn three of his circuit nominations
and three of his district court nominations. See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, circuit
court nomination of Miguel A. Estrada, which, at the nominee’s request, was withdrawn
by the President on Sept. 4, 2003, following seven unsuccessful votes in the Senate by
Estrada supporters to close debate on the nomination; in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005,
circuit court nomination of Henry W. Saad, which was withdrawn on Mar. 27, 2006, and the
Sept. 29, 2005, circuit court nomination of James H. Payne, which was withdrawn on Mar.
7, 2006; in Appendix 7, the Jan. 7, 2003, district nomination of Frederick W. Rohlfing III,
which was withdrawn on May 6, 2004; and, in Appendix 8, the Feb. 14, 2005, district
nomination of Daniel P. Ryan, which was withdrawn on Mar. 30, 2006, and the Feb. 14,
2006, district nomination of Jerome A. Holmes, which was withdrawn on May 4, 2006.
17

The mean number is the sum of the number of elapsed days for all of the nominations in
question divided by the number of those nominations. The median number is either (1) the
elapsed number of days for the nomination in the middle of the distribution of all the
nominations in question, with an equal number of the nominations having longer elapsed
times than that nomination, and an equal number of nominations having shorter elapsed
times; or (2) the mean of the elapsed number of days for the two nominations in the middle
of the distribution if there is no one middle nomination.
18

William H. Greene, Econometric Analysis, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,
2003), p. 847. For an introduction to median versus mean and arguments surrounding when
each should be used, see chapter 3 in Alan Agresti and Barbara Finlay, Statistical Methods
for the Social Sciences, 3rd ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997).

CRS-8
The time averages presented in Appendices 2-4 and Appendices 6-8 are
calculated from time-elapsed data for specific nominations, as opposed to overall time
an individual might have been in nominee status. Thus, in the case of an individual
nominated twice to the same judgeship, time-elapsed data are counted separately for
each nomination — rather than, for instance, measuring the time between a nominee’s
first nomination and any action (hearing, committee vote, or Senate vote) on the
nominee’s second nomination. A nomination not receiving a committee hearing,
committee vote, or Senate vote is excluded from the calculation of average time
between the nomination date and this particular procedural step. Also, three
nominations in which nominees received hearings were, nevertheless, excluded from
the calculations of average time between nomination and hearing because the hearings
in all three instances preceded the nomination dates.19
As noted above, some individuals were nominated more than once to a judgeship
within the same Congress. Appendix 2 includes 20 circuit court nominations,
submitted by President Bush during the 107th Congress, between May 9 and August
2, 2001, which the Senate returned to the President on August 3, 2001, at the start of
the Senate’s August 2001 recess, pursuant to Senate Rule XXXI.20 Appendix 6
includes 20 district court nominations submitted by President Bush during the107th
Congress, between June 18 and August 2, 2001, which the Senate returned at the start
of its August 2001 recess. When the Senate reconvened on September 4, 2001,
President Bush renominated all 40 of the individuals involved.21 Similarly, footnotes
to the initial 20 circuit and 20 district court nominations that were returned to the
President indicate that the nominees in question were later renominated. In the 108th
and 109th Congresses, several additional nominees were renominated at least once in
the same Congress. In the 108th Congress, three individuals were nominated twice.22

19

In Appendix 2, see circuit court nomination of Sharon Prost on Sept. 4, 2001; in
anticipation of this nomination, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Ms. Prost on
Aug. 27, 2001. In Appendix 5, see district court nominations of Reggie B. Walton and
Terry L. Wooten on Sept. 4, 2001; in anticipation of these nominations, the Judiciary
Committee held a hearing for Walton on Aug. 22, 2001, and a hearing for Wooten on Aug.
27, 2001.
20

As noted earlier, Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, provides that nominations pending in
the Senate at the time that the Senate adjourns or takes a recess of more than 30 days shall
be returned to the President. Usually, but not always, the Senate, before starting a recess
of more than 30 days, waives this rule by unanimous consent, allowing pending nominations
to remain in “status quo” and continue to be pending in the Senate after it reconvenes.
Sometimes, however, when Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, is not waived, nominations, pursuant
to the rule, are returned to the President and can only be considered again if they are
resubmitted by the President.
21

Footnotes to each of these “resubmitted” nominations are provided, indicating that the
nominees had been nominated earlier to the same judgeships.
22

In the 108th Congress, as Appendix 3 reveals, three persons were nominated more than
once to circuit judgeships; Claude A. Allen of Virginia was nominated to the Fourth Circuit
on Apr. 28, 2003, and Jan. 20, 2004; Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi was nominated
to the Fifth Circuit on Jan. 7, 2003, and Feb. 6, 2004; William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama was
nominated to the Eleventh Circuit on Apr. 9, 2003, and Mar. 12, 2004. For both Pickering
and Pryor, the second nomination in the 108th Congress was to a life term to the position to
which they had been recess-appointed earlier in that same Congress.

CRS-9
In the 109th Congress, five individuals were nominated three times following returns
as the Senate went into recess in August and again in September.23
Several of President Bush’s judicial nominees also have been nominated in more
than one Congress. Appendix 3, for example, shows that the first 14 circuit court
nominations in the 108th Congress were of individuals previously nominated in the
107th Congress. Likewise, Appendix 7 shows that the first 15 district court
nominations in the 108th Congress were of individuals previously nominated in the
107th Congress.24
More recently, in the 109th Congress, President Bush’s first 20 judicial
nominations were all resubmissions from the 108th Congress. Submitted on February
14, 2005, the 20 resubmissions involved 12 circuit nominees and eight district court
nominees who had earlier nominations returned to the President at the final
adjournment of the 108th Congress.25 Moreover, six of the 12 circuit nominees had
been nominated in two prior Congresses — in the 107th as well as in the 108th — as
had two of the eight district court nominees.26

23

See, in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations of
Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina to the Fourth Circuit, William G. Myers III of Idaho
to the Ninth Circuit, and William J. Haynes II, of Virginia, also to the Fourth Circuit; the
Dec, 16, 2005, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations of N. Randy Smith of Idaho
to the Ninth Circuit; and the Feb. 8, 2006, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations
of Michael B. Wallace of Mississippi to the Fifth Circuit.
24

All of these resubmitted nominations are footnoted in Appendices 3 and 7 to indicate that
the persons involved also had been nominated in the 107th Congress.
25

All of the nominations returned at the end of the 108th Congress which were resubmitted
in the 109th Congress have footnotes in Appendices 3 and 7 to indicate that fact.

26

See in Appendices 2 and 3 the circuit court nominations in the 107th and 108th Congresses
of Terrence W. Boyle, Priscilla R. Owen, Richard A. Griffin, David W. McKeague, Susan
B. Neilson, and Henry W. Saad. See in Appendices 6 and 7 the district court nominations
in the 107th and 108th Congresses of Thomas L. Ludington and James C. Dever III.

CRS-10

Statistical Findings from the Tables
Circuit Court Nominees During the Presidency
of George W. Bush
Between January 20, 2001, and December 9, 2006, 51 of President George W.
Bush’s 68 nominees to the U.S. circuit courts received Senate confirmation.27 Of the
17 nominees not confirmed, the nominations of three were withdrawn by the
President,28 and the remaining 14 were returned at the end of a Congress.29 Four of
the 14, after having their nominations returned at the end of the 109th Congress, were
renominated at the start of the110th Congress.30
Nominees Failing to Receive Senate Votes after Unsuccessful
Cloture Motions. None of President Bush’s circuit court nominees has been
rejected by the Senate on a vote of whether to confirm. However, in the 108th
Congress, in the face of significant opposition to their nominations on the Senate
27

Appendix 1 identifies all of President Bush’s confirmed circuit court nominees and their
confirmation dates, as of Dec. 9, 2006, listing the nominees in alphabetical order.
28

See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, nomination of Miguel A. Estrada of Virginia and,
in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Henry W. Saad of Michigan and the Sept.
29, 2005, nomination of James H. Payne of Oklahoma — all three of which subsequently
were withdrawn by President Bush.

29

The nominations of eight of the 14 were returned at the end of a Congress and not
resubmitted in a subsequent Congress. Specifically, the Oct. 8, 2001, nomination of
William H. Steele of Alabama (in Appendix 2) was returned to the President at the end of
the 107th Congress and not resubmitted in a subsequent Congress. The Jan. 7, 2003,
nomination of Carolyn B. Kuhl of California, the Jan. 7, 2003, and Feb. 6, 2004,
nominations of Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi, and the Jan. 20, 2004, nomination
of Claude A. Allen of Virginia (all in Appendix 3) were returned to the President at the end
of the 108th Congress and not resubmitted in the 109th Congress. The Nov. 15, 2006,i
nominations of Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina, William G. Myers III of Idaho,
William J. Haynes II of Virginia, and Michael B. Wallace of Mississippi (all in Appendix
4) were returned at the end of the 109th Congress, and subsequent news accounts reported
that all four nominees had asked the President that they not be renominated in the 110th
Congress. See Neil A. Lewis, “Bush Drops Plans to Renominate 3 Judges,” New York
Times, Jan. 10, 2007, p. A18, and Seth Stern, “Fifth Circuit Nominee Takes Himself Out of
the Running,” CQ Today, Dec. 26, 2006, available at [http://www.cq.com].
The nominations of two of the 14 (see in Appendices 1 and 4, the June 28, 2006,
nominations to the Sixth Circuit of Raymond M. Kethledge of Michigan and Stephen J.
Murphy II, both of Michigan), after being returned at the end of the 109th Congress, were
reportedly, as of Jan. 9, 2007, under consideration for renomination in the 110th Congress.
See Ed Whelan, “Re: Court of Appeals Nominations,” Bench Memos, Jan. 9, 2007, available
at [http://bench.nationalreview.com].
The nominations of four of the 14, as discussed in the next footnote, after being
returned at the end of the 109th Congress, were resubmitted at the beginning of the 110th
Congress.
30

As of Jan. 19, 2007, the four persons renominated to circuit judgeships in the 110th
Congress were Thomas M. Hardiman, Peter D. Keisler, and Debra A. Livingston (all
renominated on Jan. 9, 2007), and N. Randy Smith (renominated on Jan. 16, 2007). See
Appendices 1 and 4.

CRS-11
floor, 10 circuit court nominees failed to receive final Senate votes after one or more
motions to close debate on their nominations proved unsuccessful.31 Subsequently,
in the 109th Congress, following controversy over the propriety of filibusters on
judicial nominations, a compromise was reached in the Senate,32 which resulted in
confirmation votes for five of those 10 circuit nominees.33 The five others among the
10, however, ultimately failed to gain confirmation: the nomination of one of the five
was withdrawn in the 108th Congress (after seven unsuccessful votes on motions to
close debate);34 the nominations of two were returned at the end of the 108th Congress
and were not followed by renomination in the 109th Congress;35 a renomination of the
fourth was withdrawn in the 109th Congress;36 and the fifth nominee was renominated
in the 109th Congress but was not renominated at the beginning of the 110th
Congress.37
Recess Appointments. Two of the 10 circuit nominees on whom the Senate
could not agree to close debate in the 108th Congress were, later in that Congress,
given temporary recess appointments by President Bush. After the recess appointment
of one of these nominees expired at the end of the 108th Congress, he was not renominated by President Bush in the 109th Congress.38 Prior to the expiration of the

31

The Senate can close debate by passing a cloture motion, which requires a super-majority
of three-fifths of the Senate, or 60 Members, voting in favor. During the 108th Congress,
the 10 nominations on which the Senate voted, on one or more occasions, not to close debate
were the Jan. 7, 2003, nominations of Miguel Estrada of Virginia, Richard A. Griffin of
Michigan, Carolyn B. Kuhl of California, David W. McKeague of Michigan, Priscilla R.
Owen of Texas, Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi, and Henry W. Saad of Michigan;
the Apr. 9, 2003, nomination of William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama; the May 15, 2003,
nomination of William G. Myers III of Idaho; and the July 25, 2003, nomination of Janice
R. Brown of California. On each of these occasions, as Appendix 3 shows, the number of
votes needed to close debate fell short of 60.
32

For an account of how this compromise was reached, as well as of the details of the
compromise, see David Nather, “The Centrists Strike Back,” CQ Weekly, vol. 63, May 30,
2005, p. 1420.
33

See, in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, nominations of Richard A. Griffin, David W.
McKeague, Priscilla R. Owen, William H. Pryor Jr., and Janice R. Brown — all
subsequently confirmed.
34

See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, nomination of Miguel A. Estrada.

35

See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, nominations of Carolyn B. Kuhl and Charles W.
Pickering Sr.

36

See, in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Henry W. Saad.

37

See, in Appendix 1, the nominations of William G. Myers III. Myers was renominated
three times in the 109th Congress, with each nomination returned to the President upon a
Senate recess of more than 30 days (the last return occurring at the final adjournment of the
109th Congress). Media accounts at the opening of the 110th Congress reported that
President George W. Bush did not intend to resubmit Myers 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].
38

On Jan. 16, 2004, between the first and second sessions of the 108th Congress, Charles W.
Pickering Sr. of Mississippi (whose nomination in the 107th Congress had been rejected by
(continued...)

CRS-12
other nominee’s recess appointment, he was renominated by President Bush in the
109th Congress and subsequently confirmed by the Senate.39
Nominees Defeated in Committee. Two of President Bush’s circuit
nominations were defeated in committee votes. These defeats occurred when the
Senate Judiciary Committee, in the 107th Congress, voted not to report their
nominations to the Senate.40 The two nominees were renominated by President Bush
in the 108th Congress and this time were reported out favorably by the Judiciary
Committee.41 However, they (along with eight other circuit nominees) failed to
receive final Senate votes in the 108th Congress, after motions to close debate on their
nominations proved unsuccessful. Ultimately, one of the two nominees was
renominated in the 109th Congress and confirmed by the Senate in a 55-43 roll call
vote.42 The other nominee was given a temporary recess appointment by President
between the first and second sessions of the 108th Congress; at the end of that
Congress, his recess appointment expired, and he was not renominated by President
Bush in the 109th Congress.43
Length in Time of the Appointment Process. Appendix 1 reveals that
President Bush’s circuit court nominees have varied considerably in how quickly they
have advanced through the appointment process.44 For some who were nominated
38

(...continued)
the Senate Judiciary Committee) was recess appointed to the Fifth Circuit by President
Bush. The appointment expired on Dec. 8, 2004, at the end of the second session of the
108th Congress. Judge Pickering retired at that time and was not renominated by President
Bush in the 109th Congress. In Appendix 3, see the Jan. 7, 2003, and Feb. 6, 2004,
nominations of Judge Pickering, both of which were returned to the President on Dec. 8,
2004.
39

On Feb. 20, 2004, during a recess within the second session of the 108th Congress,
William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama was recess appointed to the Eleventh Circuit by President
Bush. The appointment was to expire at the end of the Senate’s first session in the 109th
Congress, the sine die adjournment of which occurred on Dec. 22, 2005. However, on Feb.
14, 2005, early in the 109th Congress, Pryor was renominated by President Bush and
confirmed on June 9, 2005, more than six months before his recess appointment would have
expired. See, in Appendix 3, the Apr. 9, 2003, and Mar. 12, 2004, nominations of Pryor,
both of which were returned to the President on Dec. 8, 2004, and, in Appendix 4, the Feb.
14, 2005, nomination, which was confirmed.
40

See, in Appendix 2, the Sept. 4, 2001, nominations of Priscilla R. Owen of Texas and
Charles W. Pickering Sr., of Mississippi, both to the Fifth Circuit. In the case of both
nominations, the committee defeated successive motions to report favorably, to report
without recommendation, and to report unfavorably (doing so with the Pickering nomination
on Mar. 14, 2002, and with the Owen nomination on Sept. 5, 2002).
41

See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, nominations of Priscilla R. Owen and Charles W.
Pickering Sr.

42

See, in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Priscilla R. Owen.

43

See above footnote regarding the Jan. 16, 2004, recess appointment of Charles W.
Pickering Sr. of Mississippi to the Fifth Circuit by President Bush.
44

Specifically, it will be noted, the table shows, among other things, the number of days that
elapsed from the date of each nominee’s first nomination to the date of the final disposition
(continued...)

CRS-13
more than once to a circuit judgeship, the elapsed time between first nomination and
final disposition on a subsequent nomination has extended over two or more
Congresses. For other individuals, though, the overall appointment process was
much briefer.
Specifically, Appendix 1 shows that, during the course of his presidency, 20 of
George W. Bush’s 68 circuit court nominees have been nominated in two or more
Congresses — with 14 nominated in two Congresses, and six nominated in three
successive Congresses. Of the six nominated in three Congresses, four have been
confirmed,45 one was withdrawn,46 and the nomination of the sixth person was
returned at the end of the 109th Congress and was not resubmitted at the beginning of
the 110th Congress.47
Confirmed Nominees. The longest interval between first nomination and
confirmation for a Bush circuit nominee was 1,477 days — slightly more than four
years.48 The least amount of elapsed time for a circuit nominee between first
nomination and confirmation was 63 days.49 The bottom rows of Appendix 1 show

44

(...continued)
of the nominee’s last nomination, as of the end of the 109th Congress.
45

See the nominations of: Priscilla R. Owen to the Fifth Circuit on May 9, 2001, and Sept.
4, 2001 (both in 107th Congress), Jan. 7, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005 (109th
Congress) — the last confirmed on May 25, 2005; David W. McKeague to the Sixth Circuit
on Nov. 8, 2001 (107th Congress), Jan. 7, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005 (109th
Congress) — the last confirmed on June 9, 2004; Susan B. Neilson to the Sixth Circuit on
Nov. 8, 2001 (107th Congress), Jan. 7, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005 (109th
Congress) — - the last confirmed on Oct. 27, 2005; and Richard A. Griffin to the Sixth
Circuit on June 26, 2002 (107th Congress), Jan. 7, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005
(109th Congress) — the last confirmed on June 9, 2005.
46

See the nominations of Henry W. Saad to the Sixth Circuit on Nov. 8, 2001 (107th
Congress), Jan. 8, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005 (109th Congress). The last
nomination was withdrawn on Mar. 27, 2006.
47

See the nominations of Terrence W. Boyle to the Fourth Circuit on May 9, 2001, and Sept.
4, 2001 (both in the 107th Congress), Jan. 7, 2003 (108th Congress), and Feb. 14, 2005, Sept.
5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006 (all in the 109th Congress).
48

See again, in Appendix 1, nominee Priscilla R. Owen, first nominated on May 9, 2001,
and confirmed on May 25, 2005. The circuit nominees with the next highest number of days
elapsed between their first nomination and confirmation were the other three nominees,
mentioned above, who were confirmed after being nominated in three straight Congresses:
Susan B. Neilson (1,449 days — first nominated Nov. 8, 2001), David W. McKeague (1,309
days — first nominated Nov. 8, 2001), and Richard A. Griffin (1,079 days — first
nominated June 26, 2002).
49

See in Appendix 1 the nomination of Bobby E. Shepherd to the Eighth Circuit on May
18, 2006, which was confirmed on July 20, 2006. The circuit nominees with the next-fewest
number of days of elapsed time between their first (and only) nomination and confirmation
were Michael A. Chagares to the Third Circuit (69 days — nominated Jan. 25, 2006),
William J. Riley to the Eighth Circuit (71 days — nominated May 23, 2001), and Roger L.
Gregory to the Fourth Circuit (72 days — nominated May 9, 2001). It should be noted that
Gregory had been nominated twice earlier by President William J. Clinton — with the
(continued...)

CRS-14
that for President Bush’s 51 circuit nominees confirmed, the average elapsed time
between first nomination and final disposition was 366 days. This average, or mean,
was arrived at by summing the number of days between first nomination and
confirmation for all 51 nominees in question, and then dividing by 51. However, the
median elapsed time (i.e., the time interval for the nominee in the midpoint of the
distribution of the 51 confirmed nominees) was significantly less — 216 days. In
other words, for 25 of the 51 confirmed circuit nominees, the elapsed time between
first nomination and confirmation was less than 216 days; for one nominee, in the
midpoint of the distribution, the elapsed time was exactly 216 days;50 and for 25
others, the elapsed time was more than 216 days.51
Withdrawn or Returned Nominees. As discussed above,52 17 other circuit
court nominees, as of the end of the 109th Congress, saw their most recent
nominations withdrawn by the President or returned to the President. Among the 17
nominees, the most elapsed time between first nomination and final disposition of last
nomination was 2,040 days,53 whereas the least elapsed time for this interval was 87
days.54 The mean elapsed time for the relatively small number of nominees in this
category was 710 days, and the median elapsed time was 407 days.55

President Bush’s Circuit Court Nominations
During Particular Congresses

49

(...continued)
second nomination occurring in the last days of the Clinton presidency — and that President
Bush, upon assuming office, withdrew that second nomination, only to renominate Gregory
himself on May 9, 2001. However, Appendix 1 lists the May 9, 2001, nomination as not
the second or third, but the first and only nomination, of Gregory, because it is a table
devoted exclusively to President Bush’s circuit court nominees.
50

See, in Appendix 1, the nomination of Michael J. Melloy to the Eighth Circuit. Melloy
was first nominated on July 10, 2001. That nomination was returned by the Senate on
August 3, 2001. Melloy was renominated on Sept. 4, 2001, and confirmed on Feb. 11, 2002
— a nomination-to-confirmation time interval of 216 days.
51

The mean (366 days) was much higher than the median (216 days) because the amount
of time elapsed between certain nominees’ first nominations and their confirmation dates
was markedly higher than nearly all other nominees. See in particular nominees Priscilla
R. Owen (elapsed time 1,477 days), Susan B. Neilson (1,449 days), David W. McKeague
(1,309 days), and Richard A. Griffin (1,079 days).
52

See, earlier in the body of this report, the first paragraph after the heading “Circuit Court
Nominees During the Presidency of George W. Bush.”
53

See, in Appendix 1, the first nomination of Terrence W. Boyle to the Fourth Circuit on
May 9, 2001, and the return of his sixth, and last, nomination on Dec. 9, 2006 — 2,040 days
later.
54

See, in Appendix 1, the first, nomination of Thomas M. Hardiman to the Third Circuit
on Sept. 13, 2006, which was returned to the President on Dec. 9, 2006, 87 days later.
Hardiman was renominated to the Third Circuit on Jan. 9, 2007.
55

See, in Appendix 1, the nomination of William H. Steele to the Eleventh Circuit. Steele
was nominated on Oct. 9, 2001, and that nomination was returned to the President on Nov.
20, 2002 — a time interval of 407 days.

CRS-15
The following are among the key statistical findings concerning President Bush’s
circuit court nominations during particular Congresses, and the actions and amount
of time taken on them.
The 107th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 52 circuit court
nominations to the Senate during the 107th Congress. Twenty of the 52 nominations,
however, were resubmissions (i.e., renominations of persons nominated earlier in the
Congress). The resubmissions occurred when 20 circuit nominations, which had been
returned by the Senate to President Bush at the beginning of the Senate’s August 2001
recess, were resubmitted as new nominations upon the Senate’s reconvening in
September 2001. Hence, 32 individuals were nominated by President Bush to circuit
judgeships during the 107th Congress.
Of these 32 individuals, 17 were confirmed by the Senate (14 by roll call votes),56
and 15 saw their nominations returned to the President at the final adjournment of the
107th Congress. Of the 15 nominees not confirmed, 12 did not receive a Judiciary
Committee hearing; one received a committee hearing but not a committee vote;57 and
two were defeated in committee when the Judiciary Committee voted not to report
their nominations.58 The President renominated 14 of the 15 unconfirmed nominees
at the start of the 108th Congress.59
For circuit nominations that received committee hearings, committee votes, or
Senate confirmation votes in the 107th Congress, the average (mean) numbers of days
that elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the Senate and the
aforementioned actions were as follows:
!

For 19 of the 20 circuit nominations receiving committee hearings,60
an average of 176 days elapsed between the date a nomination was
received in the Senate and the holding of a hearing; the briefest time

56

The closest roll call was the 55-44 vote, on Nov. 19, 2002, confirming Dennis Shedd of
South Carolina to the Fourth Circuit; the second-closest was the 64-35 vote, on July 31,
2002, confirming D. Brooks Smith of Pennsylvania to the Third Circuit. In all the other roll
call votes on whether to confirm circuit court nominations, the Senate voted unanimously
in favor of confirmation, except for one roll call, in which one “nay” vote was recorded.
See Appendix 2.
57

See, in Appendix 2, the Sept. 4, 2001, nomination of Miguel A. Estrada to the D.C.
Circuit.
58

See, in Appendix 2, the Sept. 4, 2001, nominations of Priscilla R. Owen and Charles W.
Pickering Sr., both to the Fifth Circuit.
59

The Oct. 9, 2001, nomination of William H. Steele to the Eleventh Circuit, in Appendix
2, was returned to the President at the final adjournment of the 107th Congress on Nov. 20,
2002. Steele was not re-nominated in the 108th Congress. Table notes in Appendix 3
identify the 14 other circuit nominees who were renominated in the 108th Congress, after
their earlier nominations were returned to the President at the end of the 107th Congress.
60

A 20th circuit court nomination also received a committee hearing, but it was excluded
from the calculation of average elapsed time between date of nomination and committee
hearing because its hearing date preceded its nomination date. See, in Appendix 2, the
Sept. 24, 2001, nomination of Sharon Prost, in anticipation of which the Senate Judiciary
Committee held a hearing, on Aug. 27, 2001.

CRS-16
elapsing from Senate receipt to committee hearing was nine days, and
the longest time was 387 days.
!

For the 19 circuit nominations receiving committee votes, an average
of 194 days elapsed between Senate receipt and committee vote; the
briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee vote was two
days,61 and the longest time (for two nominations) was 436 days.

!

For the 17 circuit nominations receiving final Senate votes (all in
favor of confirmation), an average of 210 days elapsed between
Senate receipt and final Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing from
Senate receipt to Senate confirmation vote was 17 days, and the
longest time was 441 days.

For the 35 circuit nominations that were not confirmed, an average of 204 days
elapsed between Senate receipt and final action; the briefest time elapsing was one
day, and the longest time was 442 days.
The 108th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 37 circuit court
nominations to the Senate during the 108th Congress. Three of the 37 nominations,
however, were renominations of persons nominated earlier in the Congress.62 Hence,
34 individuals were nominated by President Bush to circuit judgeships during the
108th Congress.
The 34 individuals nominated by President Bush to circuit judgeships during the
108th Congress included 14 who had first been nominated in the 107th Congress and
then resubmitted. Of the 34 nominees, 18 (including five of the resubmissions) were
confirmed by the Senate (14 by roll call votes),63 the nomination of one was
withdrawn by the President during the first session of the 108th Congress, and the
nominations of 15 were returned at the Congress’s final adjournment. All but one of
61

The nomination which received a committee vote just two days after its receipt by the
Senate was a resubmission of an earlier nomination to the same judgeship. See, in Appendix
2, the Sept. 4, 2001, nomination of Sharon Prost of the District of Columbia to the District
of Columbia Circuit. A hearing was held on Aug. 27, 2001, in anticipation of Ms. Prost’s
renomination, paving the way for a committee vote after Senate receipt of the nomination
without the need for a hearing first.
62

See in Appendix 3 the nomination of Charles W. Pickering Sr. to the Fifth Circuit on Jan.
7, 2003, followed by his renomination on Feb. 6, 2004; of Claude A. Allen to the Fourth
Circuit on Apr. 28, 2003, followed by his renomination on Jan. 20, 2004; and of William H.
Pryor Jr. to the Eleventh Circuit on Apr. 9, 2003, followed by his renomination on Mar. 12,
2004.
63

The closest roll call vote on whether to confirm was the 52-41 vote, on Apr. 29, 2003,
confirming Jeffrey S. Sutton of Ohio to the Sixth Circuit; the second-closest was the 58-41
vote, on Apr. 1, 2003, confirming Timothy M. Tymkovich of Colorado to the Tenth Circuit.
Substantial, though lesser, numbers of votes against confirmation were cast in the 66-25 vote
on May 5, 2003, to confirm Deborah L. Cook of Ohio to the Sixth Circuit; the 70-27 vote
on June 24, 2004, to confirm Diane S. Sykes of Wisconsin to the Seventh Circuit; and the
74-19, vote on Mar. 13, 2003, to confirm Jay S. Bybee of Nevada to the Ninth Circuit. In
the 10 other roll call confirmation votes for circuit nominees, the Senate voted in favor of
confirmation unanimously or with one “nay” vote recorded. See Appendix 3.

CRS-17
the 34 nominees received a hearing (31 during the 108th Congress, two during the
prior Congress),64 and 30 were reported out of committee, all favorably. Of the 16
circuit nominees not confirmed, one did not receive a committee hearing; no
committee vote was taken on three others; and 12 did not receive final Senate votes.
In the case of 10 of the 12 nominees, cloture motions filed to close debate on their
nominations failed to receive the required 60 votes.65 Two of the 10 nominations on
which motions to close debate failed were of the two persons who had been defeated
in the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 107th Congress.66 The nomination of one of
the other 10 nominees was withdrawn by the President, after seven unsuccessful
motions were made in the Senate to close debate on the nomination.67
For circuit nominations that received committee hearings, committee votes, or
Senate confirmation votes in the 108th Congress, the average (mean) numbers of days
that elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the Senate and the
aforementioned actions were as follows:
!

For the 31 circuit nominations receiving hearings, an average of 145
days elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the
Senate and the holding of a hearing; the briefest time elapsing from
Senate receipt to committee hearing was (for three nominations) 22
days, and the longest time was 610 days.

!

For the 30 circuit nominations receiving committee votes, an average
of 173 days elapsed between Senate receipt and committee vote; the

64

Two of the three circuit court nominees during the 108th Congress who did not receive
hearings during that Congress — Miguel Estrada of Virginia and Charles W. Pickering Sr.
of Mississippi — had received hearings during the 107th Congress. The third circuit
nominee not to receive a hearing during the 108th Congress, Terrence W. Boyle of North
Carolina, had been nominated twice earlier, during the 107th Congress, and had not received
a hearing on either of these nominations as well. Between his first nomination on May 9,
2001, in the 107th Congress and the return of his third nomination to the President at the
final adjournment of the 108th Congress on Dec. 8, 2004, Boyle was a circuit court nominee
for more than three sessions of Congress without receiving a hearing. Subsequently,
however, in the 109th Congress, Boyle was nominated to the circuit court a fourth time by
President Bush, on Feb. 14, 2005, and received a hearing on this nomination on Mar. 3,
2005. See Appendices 2, 3, and 4.
65

As noted earlier, the 10 nominations on which the Senate voted, on one or more occasions,
not to close debate were the Jan. 7, 2003, nominations of Miguel A. Estrada of Virginia,
Richard A. Griffin of Michigan, Carolyn B. Kuhl of California, David W. McKeague of
Michigan, Priscilla R. Owen of Texas, Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi, and Henry
W. Saad of Michigan; the Apr. 9, 2003, nomination of William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama; the
May 15, 2003, nomination of William G. Myers III of Idaho; and the July 25, 2003,
nomination of Janice R. Brown of California. See Appendix 3.
66

See, in Appendix 2 , the Mar. 14, 2002, votes by the Senate Judiciary Committee against
reporting the nomination of Charles W. Pickering Sr., and the Sept. 5, 2002, votes by the
committee against reporting the nomination of Priscilla R. Owen.
67

See, in Appendix 3, the Jan. 7, 2003, nomination of Miguel A. Estrada, which was
withdrawn by the President on Sept. 4, 2003, following seven Senate votes on motions to
close debate on the nomination.

CRS-18
briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee vote was 23
days, and the longest time 636 days.
!

For the 18 circuit nominations which received Senate confirmation
votes, an average of 140 days elapsed between Senate receipt and
final Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to
Senate confirmation vote was 65 days, and the longest time was 234
days.68

For the 19 circuit nominations that were not confirmed, an average of 516 days
elapsed between Senate receipt and final action, the briefest time elapsing was 212
days, and the longest time was 701 days (for eight nominations).
The 109th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 40 circuit
nominations to the Senate during the 109th Congress. Twelve of the nominations,
however, were renominations of persons nominated earlier in the Congress. (The
renominations followed the return to the President of one nomination at the end of the
1st session of the Congress,69 the return of five nominations at the start of the Senate’s
August 2006 recess,70 and the return of six nominations when the Senate recessed
again for more than 30 days on September 29, 2006.71) Hence, 28 individuals were
nominated by President Bush to circuit judgeships during the 109th Congress.
The 28 individuals nominated by President Bush to circuit judgeships during the
109th Congress included 12 who were nominated in the 108th Congress and then
renominated in the 109th Congress. Seven of the 12 had seen one or more
unsuccessful votes on the Senate floor to close debate on their nominations in the
108th Congress. Of the 28 nominees in the 109th Congress, the nominations of 16
(seven of them resubmissions from the 108th Congress) were confirmed by the Senate
(all but two by roll call);72 two were withdrawn by the President;73 and 10 were
68

Appendix 3 excludes from the measurement and averaging of times from Senate receipt
to final Senate vote the 10 circuit nominations during the 108th Congress on which there
were votes on motions to close Senate debate but no final votes on whether to confirm.
69

See in Appendix 4 the return of the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh,
followed by his renomination on Jan. 25, 2006.
70

See in Appendix 4 the return of the Feb. 14, 2005, nominations of Terrence W. Boyle,
William J. Haynes II and William G. Myers III, the Dec. 16, 2005, nomination of N. Randy
Smith, and the Feb. 8, 2006, nomination of Michael B. Wallace, all of whom were
renominated on Sept. 5, 2006.

71

See in Appendix 4 the return of the June 29, 2006, nomination of Peter D. Keisler and the
return of the Sept. 5, 2006, nominations of Terrence W. Boyle, William J. Haynes II,
William G. Myers III, N. Randy Smith, and Michael B. Wallace, all of whom were
renominated on Nov. 15, 2006.
72

On three of the nominations, the roll call votes were relatively close. See in Appendix
4, the 53-45 vote on June 9, 2005, confirming William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama to the
Eleventh Circuit; the 55-43 vote on May 25, 2005, confirming Priscilla R. Owen of Texas
to the Fifth Circuit; and the 56-43 vote on June 8, 2005, confirming Janice R. Brown of
California to the Ninth Circuit. On three other roll call votes, there was less, but still
(continued...)

CRS-19
returned at the end of the Congress. Two of the 28 nominees were nominated twice
in the 109th Congress;74 five were nominated three times.75 Twenty-four of the 28
circuit nominees in the 109th Congress had received hearings (either in the 109th or in
the prior Congress), and the nominations of 21 had been reported out of committee,
all favorably. Of the 10 nominees returned to the President at the end of the 109th
Congress, three did not receive a hearing, while the other seven received hearings on
at least one of their nominations in the 109th Congress.
For circuit nominations that received committee hearings, committee votes, or
Senate confirmation votes in the 109th Congress, the average (mean) numbers of days
that elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the Senate and the
aforementioned actions were as follows:
!

For the 17 circuit nominations receiving hearings in the 109th
Congress,76 an average of 76 days elapsed between the date the
nomination was received in the Senate and the holding of a hearing;
the briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee hearing
was 15 days, and the longest time was 512 days.

!

For the 20 circuit nominations receiving committee votes, an average
of 87 days elapsed between Senate receipt and committee vote; the

72

(...continued)
substantial, recorded opposition to confirmation. See in Appendix 4 the 73-24 vote on June
14, 2005, confirming Thomas B. Griffith to the District of Columbia Circuit; the 57-36 vote
on May 26, 2006, confirming Brett M. Kavanaugh to the District of Columbia Circuit; and
the 67-30 vote on July 25, 2006, confirming Jerome A. Holmes to the Tenth Circuit. On the
eight other roll call votes, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of confirmation. Two
other nominees, Neil M. Gorsuch (Tenth Circuit) and Bobby Shepherd (Eighth Circuit),
were confirmed in an en bloc voice vote on July 20, 2006.
73

See in Appendix 4 the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Henry W. Saad of Michigan to the
Sixth Circuit (withdrawn on Mar. 27, 2006), and the Sept. 29, 2005, nomination of James
H. Payne of Oklahoma to the Tenth Circuit (withdrawn on Mar. 7, 2006).
74

See in Appendix 4 the Feb. 14, 2005, and Jan. 25, 2006, nominations of Brett M.
Kavanaugh of Maryland to the District of Columbia Circuit and the June 29, 2006, and Nov.
15, 2006, nominations of Peter D. Keisler to the District of Columbia Circuit.

75

See, in Appendix 4, the Feb. 14, 2005, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations of
Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina to the Fourth Circuit, William G. Myers III of Idaho
to the Ninth Circuit, and William J. Haynes II, of Virginia, also to the Fourth Circuit; the
Dec, 16, 2005, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations of N. Randy Smith of Idaho
to the Ninth Circuit; and the Feb. 8, 2006, Sept. 5, 2006, and Nov. 15, 2006, nominations
of Michael B. Wallace of Mississippi to the Fifth Circuit.
76

Seven other circuit court nominees in the109th Congress had received hearings earlier, on
nominations referred to the Judiciary Committee in the 108th Congress. In addition to those
seven, Brett M. Kavanaugh received hearings in both the 108th and 109th Congresses. See
Appendix 1.

CRS-20
briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee vote was 16
days,77 and the longest time was 248 days.
!

For the 16 circuit nominations which received Senate confirmation
votes, an average of 115 days elapsed between Senate receipt and
final Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to
Senate confirmation vote was 63 days, and the longest time was 255
days.

For the 24 circuit nominations that were not confirmed, an average of 159 days
elapsed between Senate receipt and final action; the briefest time elapsing was 24
days, and the longest time was 535 days.

District Court Nominees During the Presidency
of George W. Bush
During the presidency of George W. Bush — from January 20, 2001, through
December 9, 2006 — 206 of his 237 nominees to the U.S. district courts received
Senate confirmation. Of the 31 nominees not confirmed, the nominations of three
were withdrawn by the President,78 and the other 28 were returned at the end of the
109th Congress.79 (As of January 19, 2007, 24 of the 28 were renominated to the same
district court judgeships in the 110th Congress, while one other was nominated again,
but this time to a circuit judgeship.)80 None of President Bush’s district nominees has
been defeated in a committee vote or rejected in a Senate confirmation vote.
An examination of Appendix 5 reveals that President Bush’s district court
nominees have varied considerably in how quickly they have advanced through the
appointment process. Of the 237 individuals nominated by the President to district
judgeships (as of the end of the 109th Congress), 216 were nominated in only one
Congress (with 187 confirmed in their respective Congresses, 28 returned at the end
of the 109th Congress, and one withdrawn in the same Congress as his first

77

This calculation is the time from receipt of the second nomination of N. Randy Smith to
the Ninth Circuit. The committee vote on Sept. 21, 2006, came 279 days after the first
nomination on Dec. 16, 2005. If this nomination is excluded, the shortest interval from
nomination to committee vote in the 109th Congress was 31 days.
78

See, in Appendices 5 and 7, the Jan. 7, 2003, nomination of Frederick W. Rohlfing III
to the District of Hawaii (withdrawn on May 6, 2004), and in Appendices 5 and 8 the Feb.
14, 2005, nomination of Daniel P. Ryan to the Eastern District of Michigan (withdrawn on
Mar. 30, 2006) and the Feb. 14, 2006, nomination of Jerome A. Holmes to the Northern
District of Oklahoma (withdrawn on May 4, 2006).
79

See, in Appendix 8, the 28 nominations with the listing of “Returned 12/09/06” in the
“Final Action” column.
80

See notes in Appendices 5 and 8 that identify nominees who were renominated in the
110th Congress. The district court nominee in the 109th Congress who was renominated in
the 110th Congress to a circuit judgeship was Leslie Southwick (initially nominated to
Southern District of Mississippi, then nominated to the Fifth Circuit).

CRS-21
nomination).81
Of the remaining 21 individuals, 19 were nominated in two
Congresses,82 and two were nominated in three Congresses.83 Nineteen of the 21
nominated in more than one Congress were confirmed; 18 in the second Congress in
which they were nominated, one in the third Congress in which he was nominated.84
The other two nominees whose nominations were submitted in more than one
Congress were withdrawn by the President.85
Confirmed Nominees. Of President Bush’s 206 confirmed district court
nominees, 187 were confirmed within the same Congress in which they were first
nominated, with 19 confirmed in a subsequent Congress. The most elapsed time for
a district court nominee between first nomination and confirmation was 1,365 days,
almost three years and nine months.86 The least amount of elapsed time for a district
nominee between first nomination and confirmation was 56 days.87 The bottom rows
of Appendix 5 show that for President Bush’s 206 district court nominees confirmed
as of December 9, 2006, the average, or mean, elapsed time between first nomination
and confirmation was 171 days, whereas the median elapsed time (i.e., the time
interval for the nominee in the midpoint of the distribution of the 206 confirmed
nominees) was 134 days.
81

See in Appendices 5 and 8 the Feb. 14, 2006, nomination of Jerome A. Holmes to the
Northern District of Oklahoma; Holmes was withdrawn on May 4, 2006, and nominated to
the Tenth Circuit that same day.

82

Examination of Appendix 5 reveals that 13 individuals were nominated to district
judgeships in both the 107th and 108th Congresses, and that six others were nominated to
district judgeships in both the 108th and 109th Congresses.
83

The two were James C. Dever (first nominated to the Eastern District of North Carolina
on May 22, 2002, and ultimately confirmed on Apr. 28, 2005), and Thomas L. Ludington
(first nominated to the District of Eastern Michigan on Sept. 12, 2002, and whose third
nomination was confirmed on June 8, 2006). See Appendix 5.
84

See, in Appendix 5, nominee James C. Dever III, first nominated on May 22, 2002, in the
107th Congress, nominated again on Jan. 7, 2003, in the 108th Congress, and nominated a
third time, on Feb. 14, 2005, in the 109th Congress, and who ultimately was confirmed, on
Apr. 28, 2005.
85

See, in Appendix 5, nominees Frederick W. Rohlfing III, first nominated on Jan. 23,
2002, in the 107th Congress, and whose second nomination, on Jan. 7, 2003, in the 108th
Congress, was withdrawn on May 6, 2004, and Daniel P. Ryan, first nominated on Apr. 28,
2003, in the 108th Congress, whose second nomination on Feb. 14, 2004, in the 109th
Congress, was withdrawn, on Mar. 30, 2006.
86

See again, in Appendix 5, nominee Thomas L. Ludington for the Eastern District of
Michigan, 1,365 days between first nomination on Sept. 12, 2002, and confirmation on June
8, 2006. The nominees with the next highest number of days elapsed between first
nomination and confirmation are James C. Dever III, nominated to the Eastern District of
North Carolina, 1,072 days between first nomination on May 22, 2002, and confirmation on
Apr. 28, 2005; and Peter Sheridan, nominated to the District of New Jersey, 946 days
between first nomination on Nov. 5, 2003, and confirmation on June 8, 2006.

87

See, in Appendix 5, nominee L. Scott Coogler for the Northern District of Alabama,
nominated on Mar. 27, 2003, and confirmed on May 22, 2003. Nominees James V. Selna
for the Central District of California and Philip P. Simon for the Northern District of
Indiana, were both nominated on Jan. 29, 2003, and both confirmed on Mar. 27, 2003 — an
interval of 57 days.

CRS-22
Withdrawn Nominees. Three of President Bush’s district court nominees saw
their nominations withdrawn. One had been nominated in the 107th and 108th
Congresses, another in the 108th and 109th Congresses, and one was nominated only
in the 109th Congress. The elapsed times between their first nomination and the
withdrawal of their final or only nomination were 834 days, 1,067 days, and 79 days,
respectively.88

President Bush’s District Court Nominations
During Particular Congresses
The following are among the key statistical findings concerning President Bush’s
district court nominations during particular Congresses, and the actions and amounts
of time taken on them.
The 107th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 118 district court
nominations to the Senate during the 107th Congress.89 Twenty of the 118
nominations, however, were resubmissions (renominations). The resubmissions
occurred when 20 district nominations, which had been returned by the Senate to
President Bush at the beginning of the Senate’s August 2001 recess, were resubmitted
as new nominations upon the Senate’s reconvening in September 2001. Hence, 98
individuals were nominated by President Bush to district judgeships during the 107th
Congress.
Of these 98 individuals, 83 were confirmed by the Senate (45 by roll call votes),90
after receiving committee hearings and being reported out of committee favorably.
The 15 district court nominees who failed to be confirmed saw their nominations
returned to the President at the final adjournment of the 107th Congress, with none
having received committee hearings or committee votes. (All 15, however, were
renominated by President Bush in the 108th Congress, with 12 of the 15 confirmed in
that Congress, one withdrawn by the President in that Congress,91 and two confirmed
in the 109th Congress.)92

88

See again, in Appendix 5, nominee Frederick W. Rohlfing III for the District of Hawaii,
834 days between first nomination, on Jan. 23, 2002, in the 107th Congress, and withdrawal
of second nomination, on May 6, 2004, in the 108th Congress; Daniel P. Ryan for Eastern
District of Michigan, 1,067 days between first nomination on Apr. 28, 2003, in the 108th
Congress, and withdrawal of second nomination, on Mar. 30, 2006, in the 109th Congress;
and Jerome A. Holmes, 79 days between nomination on Feb. 14, 2006, and withdrawal on
May 4, 2006.
89

See Appendix 6.

90

In all except one of the roll calls, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of confirmation.
The sole roll call in which “nay” votes were cast against a district court nomination was the
67-20 vote, on May 13, 2002, to confirm Paul G. Cassell to the U.S. District Court for the
District of Utah. See Appendix 6.
91

See, in Appendix 5 the first nomination of Frederick W. Rohlfing III for the District of
Hawaii, in the 107th Congress and his second nomination, and its withdrawal, in the 108th
Congress.
92

See in Appendix 5 the nominations in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses — and
(continued...)

CRS-23
For district court nominations which received committee hearings, committee
votes, or Senate confirmation votes in the 107th Congress, the average (mean) numbers
of days that elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the Senate and
the aforementioned actions were as follows:
!

For 81 district nominations receiving committee hearings, an average
of 89 days elapsed between the date a nomination was received in the
Senate and the holding of a hearing;93 the briefest time elapsing for
a district nomination from Senate receipt to committee hearing was
nine days, and the longest time (for three nominations) was 257 days.

!

For the 83 district nominations receiving committee votes, an average
of 102 days elapsed between Senate receipt and committee vote; the
briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee vote was two
days,94 and the longest time (for two nominations) was 258 days.

!

For the 83 district nominations receiving final Senate votes (all for
confirmation), an average of 127 days elapsed between Senate receipt
and Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing for a district nomination
from Senate receipt to Senate confirmation was 17 days, and the
longest time (for three nominations) was 295 days.

For the 35 district court nominations that were not confirmed, an average of 51
days elapsed between Senate receipt and final action; the briefest time elapsing was
17 days, and the longest time was 301 days.
The 108th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 96 district court
nominations to the Senate during the 108th Congress.95 The number of individuals
nominated was also 96, as there were no district judge renominations during the
Congress. Of the 96 total, 87 were confirmed (58 by roll call votes), eight saw their
nominations returned at the end of the Congress, and the nomination of one was

92

(...continued)
ultimate confirmation in the 109th Congress — of James C. Dever III for the Eastern District
of North Carolina and Thomas L. Ludington for the Eastern District of Michigan.
93

Two other district nominations also received hearings; however, they were not included
in calculating average time between nomination date and hearing because the individuals’
hearings preceded their nomination dates. See, in Appendix 6, the nominations of Reggie
B. Walton for the District of South Carolina and Terry L. Wooten for the District Court for
the District of Columbia on Sept. 4, 2001, which were preceded by hearings on Aug. 22 and
Aug. 27, 2001, respectively.
94

The nomination which received a committee vote just two days after its receipt by the
Senate was a resubmission of an earlier nomination to the same judgeship. See the Sept. 4,
2001, nomination of Reggie B. Walton to the District Court for the District of Columbia.
A hearing was held on Aug. 22, 2001, in anticipation of Walton’s renomination, paving the
way for a committee vote after Senate receipt of the nomination without the need for a
hearing first. See Appendix 6.

95

See Appendix 7.

CRS-24
withdrawn.96 In all but three of the 58 roll calls, the Senate voted unanimously in
favor of confirmation.97 All of the 87 nominees who were confirmed received
committee hearings and were reported out of committee favorably, except for one,
whose nomination was reported out of committee without recommendation.98 Of the
nine nominees not confirmed, seven did not receive a hearing, and no committee vote
was taken on two others.99 One of the nine district nominees not confirmed, as already
noted, was withdrawn by the President, and the other eight were returned to the
President at the end of the 108th Congress. Early in the 109th Congress, the President
renominated all of these eight returnees.
For district court nominations in the 108th Congress which received committee
hearings, committee votes, or Senate confirmation votes, Appendix 7 shows that the
average (mean) numbers of days that elapsed between date of nomination and the
aforementioned actions were as follows:100
!

For the 89 district court nominations receiving hearings during the
108th Congress, an average of 85 days elapsed from Senate receipt of
nomination to committee hearing; the briefest time elapsing from
Senate receipt to committee hearing was (for three nominations) 22
days, and the longest time was 300 days.

!

For the 87 district nominations receiving committee votes, an average
of 111 days elapsed from Senate receipt to committee vote; the
briefest such time interval (for two district nominations) was 30 days,
and the longest time (for two nominations) was 336 days.

!

For the 87 district nominations receiving final Senate votes (all for
confirmation), an average of 156 days elapsed between Senate
receipt and Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing for a district court
nomination from Senate receipt to Senate confirmation was 34 days
(for three nominations), and the longest time was 524 days.

96

See in Appendix 7 the Jan. 7, 2003, nomination of Frederick W. Rohlfing III to the U.S.
District Court for the District of Hawaii, which was withdrawn by the President on May 6,
2004.
97

In two of the three other roll calls votes, only one “nay” vote was cast against
confirmation. However, in the third roll call that was not unanimously in favor of
confirmation, a substantial number of “nay” votes were cast. See in Appendix 7 the Jan.
29, 2003, nomination of J. Leon Holmes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of Arkansas, which was confirmed by the Senate on July 6, 2004, by a 51-46 vote.
98

See, in Appendix 7, the Jan. 29, 2003, nomination of J. Leon Holmes to the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, which the Senate Judiciary Committee, on May
1, 2003, voted 10-9 to report without recommendation.
99

Two of the nominees not confirmed were nominated relatively late in the Congress, in
September 2004. Although they received committee hearings in November 2004, they were
not reported out of committee in the remaining three weeks of the Congress. See, in
Appendix 7, the Sept. 7, 2004, nomination of Paul A. Crotty to the Southern District of New
York and the Sept. 15, 2004, nomination of J. Michael Seabright to the District of Hawaii.
100

For time interval averages and longest and shortest elapsed times in the confirmation
process for district court nominations in the 108th Congress, see Appendix 7.

CRS-25
For the nine district court nominations that were not confirmed, an average of
415 days elapsed between Senate receipt and final action; the briefest time elapsing
was 84 days, and the longest time was 701 days.
The 109th Congress. President Bush submitted a total of 66 district court
nominations to the Senate during the109th Congress.101 The number of individuals
nominated was also 66, as there were no district judge renominations during the
Congress, although eight of the nominees had been nominated previously in the 108th
Congress. The nominations of 36 of the 66, including seven of the eight resubmissions
from the 108th Congress, were confirmed (eight by roll call);102 two were withdrawn;103
and 28 were returned at the end of the 109th Congress. Fifty of the 66 nominees had
received hearings (48 in the 109th Congress, two in the 108th), and the nominations of
49 had been reported out of committee, all favorably. Of the 28 nominees returned
at the end of the 109th Congress, 14 awaited hearings, one awaited a committee vote,
and 13 awaited Senate floor action.
For district court nominations which received committee hearings, committee
votes, or Senate confirmation votes in the 109th Congress, the average (mean) numbers
of days that elapsed between the date the nomination was received in the Senate and
the aforementioned actions were as follows:104
!

For the 48 district nominations receiving committee hearings,105 an
average of 105 days elapsed between the date a nomination was
received in the Senate and the holding of a hearing; the briefest time
elapsing from Senate receipt to committee hearing was 17 days, and
the longest time was 442 days.

!

For the 48 district court nominations receiving committee votes, an
average of 118 days elapsed between Senate receipt and committee
vote; the briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to committee vote
was 31 days, and the longest time was 451 days.

!

For the 36 district nominations receiving final Senate votes (all for
confirmation), an average of 143 days elapsed between Senate receipt
and Senate vote; the briefest time elapsing from Senate receipt to
Senate confirmation was 56 days, and the longest time was 479 days.

101

See Appendix 8.

102

On all eight roll calls, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of confirmation.

103

See, in Appendix 8, the Feb. 14, 2005, nomination of Daniel P. Ryan (withdrawn on
Mar. 30, 2006), and the Feb. 14, 2006, nomination of Jerome A. Holmes (withdrawn on May
4, 2006).
104

For time interval averages and longest and shortest elapsed times in the confirmation
process for district court nominations in the 109th Congress, see Appendix 8.

105

Excluded from this average were the Feb. 14, 2005, nominations of J. Michael Seabright
and Paul A. Crotty. These nominees had received a hearing earlier, in the previous
Congress.

CRS-26
For the 30 district court nominations that were not confirmed, an average of 140
days elapsed between Senate receipt and final Senate action; the briefest time elapsing
was two days, and the longest time was 409 days.

Comparison of President Bush’s Circuit Court
Nominations with His District Court Nominations
Notable differences can be found between President Bush’s circuit court
nomination statistics and those for his district court nominations. Perhaps most
notable, as of the end of the 109th Congress, 75.0% of President Bush’s circuit court
nominees (51 of 68) had received Senate confirmation, compared with 86.9% (206 of
237) of his district court nominees.106 For President Bush’s immediate predecessor
in the White House, President Clinton, the confirmation rate for his circuit court
nominees (71.4%) was also notably less than for his district court nominees (87.2%).
However, such differences in confirmation rates for circuit and district nominees were
either slight or nonexistent for the three Presidents prior to Clinton.107
Also, the Senate has tended to take much longer to act on President Bush’s
circuit court nominees than on his district court nominees. As Table 1, below,
shows, the mean number of days elapsing from first nomination to confirmation for
circuit nominees, 366 days, was more than twice as much as the corresponding time
interval of 171 days for district nominees. Also, the median number of days, from
first nomination to confirmation, was 216 days for circuit nominees, 62% longer than
the corresponding time interval, of 134 days, for district nominees. For circuit
nominees returned to the President or withdrawn, the mean interval of 710 days
between date of first nomination and date of disposition of most recent nomination (as
of the end of the 109th Congress), was nearly four times the corresponding mean
interval of 184 days for district nominees; the median number of days for this time
interval for circuit nominees was 407, almost three times higher than the
corresponding interval of 149 days for district nominees.

Table 1. Mean and Median Number of Days Elapsed from First
Nomination to Disposition of Last Nomination for President
George W. Bush’s Nominees to U.S. Circuit or District Court
Judgeships (January 20, 2001 - December 9, 2006)

Courts to which
nominated

Number of days elapsed
from first nomination to ...
Confirmation

Mean

Circuit (N=68)
District (N=237)

366

Other final
disposition a

(N=51)

710 (N=17)

171 (N=206)

184 (N=31)

106

These numbers and percentages are derived from the circuit and district nominee lists
for President Bush in Appendices 1 and 5, respectively.

107

See Table 3 and related discussion later in this report, concerning comparative judicial
nominations statistics for the five most recent Presidents.

CRS-27
Median

Circuit (N=68)

216

District (N=237)

(N=51)

407 (N=17)

134 (N=206)

149 (N=31)

Legend: N = Number of nominees.
Sources: Appendices 1 and 5 at end of this report.
a. The most recent nominations for these nominees were either withdrawn by the President or returned
to the President.

Another indicator that President Bush’s circuit court nominees have tended to
spend more time in the confirmation process than have his district court nominees is
the number of Congresses in which they have been nominated. Table 2, below,
shows that roughly 30% of the persons President Bush nominated to circuit judgeships
through the end of the 109th Congress, were nominated in two or more Congresses,108
whereas fewer than 10% of the persons he nominated to district judgeships were
nominated in more than one Congress.109 As these percentages suggest, President
Bush’s usual practice, when his judicial nominees failed to receive Senate
confirmation in one Congress, was to renominate them in the next Congress.

Table 2. Number of Congresses in Which Persons Were
Nominated by President George W. Bush to U.S. Circuit or
District Court Judgeships (January 20, 2001 - December 9, 2006)
Courts to
which
nominated

Total number of
persons
nominated

Number of Congresses in which nominated
One

Two

Three

Circuit

68 (100%)

48 (70.6%)

14 (20.6%)

6 (8.8%)

District

237 (100%)

216 (91.1%)

19 (8.0%)

2 (0.8%)

Circuit and
District
combined

305 (100%)

264 (86.6 %)

33 (10.8%)

8 (2.6%)

Sources: Appendices 1-8 at end of this report.

Comparison of President Bush’s Circuit and District
Nomination Statistics with Those of Other Recent Presidents
The following paragraphs compare selected nominations statistics for the
presidency of George W. Bush, during the 107th-109th Congresses, with corresponding
statistics for the four previous Presidents. The statistics for President Bush are derived
from the tables presented at the end of this report, whereas corresponding statistics for

108

Specifically, 20.6% were nominated in two Congresses, and 8.8% were nominated in
three Congresses.

109

Specifically, 8.0% were nominated in two Congresses, and 0.9% were nominated in
three Congresses.

CRS-28
the four previous Presidents have been taken from an earlier CRS report.110 These
comparative statistics should be interpreted with caution, as they represent the
complete presidencies of President George W. Bush’s predecessors, but only the first
three Congresses of the presidency of George W. Bush. Final confirmation
percentages and time elapsed for the current President could change considerably over
the next two years.
Number of Nominees, Number Confirmed, and Percent Confirmed.
Table 3 provides, for each of the five most recent Presidents, the following judicial
nomination statistics:111
!
!
!
!
!

the total number of persons nominated to circuit and district court
judgeships;
the number of persons nominated to these judgeships per year;
the total number of persons who were confirmed;
the number of persons who were confirmed per year; and
the percentage of the total number nominated who were confirmed.

The cells in the table, it should be noted, account only for the number of
individuals who were nominees, and do not count “re-submitted” nominations made
when individuals were renominated to the same judgeship during a particular
presidency.
Circuit Court Nominees. Table 3 shows that, through the 109th Congress,
the total number of persons nominated by President George W. Bush to be circuit
judges (68) was less than the number nominated by Presidents Ronald Reagan in eight
years (94), William J. Clinton in eight years (91), and more than the number of
nominees of Jimmy Carter in four years (61), and his father, George H. W. Bush, in
four years (53).112 The number of persons nominated by President Bush per year to
be circuit judges (11.3), was lowest among the five Presidents, although only slightly

110

See CRS Report RL31635, Judicial Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and Circuit
Courts, 1977-2003, by Denis Steven Rutkus and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. This report
provided a comparative look — from presidency to presidency, from Congress to Congress,
and from one congressional session to another — at, among other things, the number of
district and circuit court nominations submitted to the Senate, the number and percentage
receiving committee and Senate action, and the average time taken to hold hearings, conduct
committee votes, and conduct Senate votes on the nominations. CRS Report RL31635,
however, did not compile one kind of judicial nomination statistic contained in the current
report on George W. Bush’s lower court nominations — namely, the number of days which
elapsed between the first nominations of a President’s circuit and district court nominees
and the final disposition of their last nomination.
111

Table 3 is an updated and expanded version of Table 2(b) in the previously noted CRS
Report RL31635.

112

Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton, it should be noted, were
presented with additional opportunities to make circuit court nominations, over and above
those created by vacancies of existing judgeships, when Congress passed legislation in 1978,
1984, and 1990 creating, respectively, 34, 24, and 11 new circuit judgeships. By contrast,
thus far in George W. Bush’s presidency, no legislation has been enacted creating new
circuit judgeships.

CRS-29
lower than the corresponding numbers for Presidents Clinton (11.4) and Reagan
(11.8).113
The total number of persons nominated by George W. Bush who were confirmed
(51) was less than the corresponding confirmation numbers for Presidents Reagan
(83), Clinton (65) and Carter (56), but more than for George H. W. Bush (42). The
per year number of confirmed circuit nominees for the current President Bush (8.5)
was slightly above the corresponding number for President Clinton (8.1) and less than
those for Presidents Carter (14), George H. W. Bush (10.5), and Reagan (10.4).
Over the course of four successive presidencies, Table 3 reveals, the Senate
confirmation percentage for a President’s circuit court nominees declined — from
91.8% for Jimmy Carter, 88.3% for Ronald Reagan, and 79.2% for George H. W.
Bush, to 71.4% for William J. Clinton. Through the 109th Congress, however, the
presidency of George W. Bush had reversed that downward confirmation trend
somewhat, with a 75.0% confirmation rate for the President’s circuit nominees.
District Court Nominees. Through the end of the 109th Congress, Table 3
shows, the total number of President George W. Bush’s district court nominees (237)
was the median (middle value) among those for the five most recent Presidents:
President Clinton had the most district nominees (352), followed by Presidents
Reagan (309), the current President Bush (237), Carter (224), and George H. W. Bush
(189).114 The per year number of persons nominated by the current President Bush
to be district judges (39.5) was second-lowest among the five Presidents, just above
the corresponding number for President Reagan (38.6), and below the numbers for
Presidents Carter (56), George H. W. Bush (47.3), and Clinton (44).

Table 3. U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominees of Five Most
Recent Presidents (January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006): Total
and Per Year Number of Nominees, Total and Per Year Number
Confirmed, and Percent of Total Confirmed
Circuit Court
Nominees

President
(Congresses, years)

Total
Jimmy Carter
(95th to 96th,
1977-1980)

Per
year

District Court
Nominees a
Total

Per
year

Circuit and District
Combined
Total

Per
year

N

61

15.3

224 b

56

285

71.3

C

56

14

206

51.5

262

65.5

113

President Carter nominated the most circuit nominees per year (15.3), and George H. W.
Bush the second-most (13.3).

114

Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton were presented with
additional opportunities to make district court nominations, over and above those created
by vacancies of existing judgeships, when Congress passed legislation in 1978, 1984, and
1990 authorizing, respectively, 117, 63, and 86 new district judgeships. By contrast, during
George W. Bush’s presidency, through the end of the 109th Congress, relatively few new
district judgeships, 20, had been authorized, in one piece of legislation enacted in 2002 (P.L.
107-273, 116 Stat. 1758).

CRS-30
Circuit Court
Nominees

President
(Congresses, years)

Ronald Reagan
(97th to 100th,
1981-1988)

George H. W. Bush
(101st to 102nd,
1989-1992)

William J. Clinton
(103rd to 106th,
1993-2000)

George W. Bush
(107th to 109th,
2001-2006)

District Court
Nominees a

Total

Per
year

%

91.8%

—

92.0%

—

91.9%

N

94

11.8

309

38.6

403

50.4

C

83

10.4

292

36.5

375

46.9

%

88.3%

—

94.5%

—

93.1%

N

53

13.3

189

47.3

242

60.5

C

42

10.5

150

37.5

192

48

%

79.2%

—

79.4%

—

79.3%

—

N

91

11.4

352

44

443

55.4

C

65

8.1

307

38.4

372

46.5

%

71.4%

—

87.2%

84.0%

—

N

68

11.3

237

39.5

305

50.8

C

51

8.5

206

34.3

257

42.8

%

75.0%

—

86.9%

—

84.3%

—

Total

Per
year

Circuit and District
Combined
Total

Per
year

Note: The cells in this table account only for the number of individuals who were nominees to U.S.
circuit and district court judgeships during each of the five most recent presidential administrations.
The cells do not count “re-submitted” nominations made when individuals were renominated to the
same judgeship during a particular presidency.
Legend: N=number of persons nominated by the President; C=number confirmed; %=percent
confirmed.
a. Includes nominees to the territorial district courts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern
Mariana Islands.
b. Includes one district court nominee whose nomination was submitted by President Carter on Jan. 8
1981, at the start of the 97th Congress, and withdrawn by President Reagan on Jan. 21, 1981.

The number of persons nominated by George W. Bush who were confirmed
(206) was less than the corresponding confirmation numbers for Presidents Clinton
(307), Reagan (292), but the same as Carter (206), and more than for George H. W.
Bush (150). The per year number of confirmed district nominees for the current
President Bush (34.3) was lowest among those of the five Presidents, below the
corresponding numbers for Presidents Reagan (36.5), George H. W. Bush (37.5), and
Clinton (38.4), with Jimmy Carter having the highest number (51.5).
Table 3 also shows that George W. Bush’s confirmation percentage of 86.9% for
district court nominees through the end of the 109th Congress was the second lowest
for the five Presidents. Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and William J. Clinton had
higher confirmation percentages for their district court nominees (94.5%, 92.0%, and
87.2%, respectively), whereas George H. W. Bush had a lower confirmation
percentage (79.4%).

CRS-31
Circuit Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation. Figure 1, below, shows the average number of
days that elapsed for circuit court nominations, from nomination date to confirmation,
during each Congress from the 95th (starting in January 1977) through the 109th
(which adjourned for last time on December 9, 2006). These Congresses spanned the
years of the administrations of the five most recent Presidents, from Jimmy Carter to
George W. Bush. Each bar in Figure 1 indicates the average number of elapsed days
from nomination date to confirmation for a specified Congress, and under each bar is
the name of the President whose presidency coincided in time with that Congress.
Note: The averages shown in Figure 1 are those only for circuit court
nominations which ultimately were confirmed in a particular Congress. Excluded
from the calculation of averages were the pendency times in a Congress for
nominations that ultimately were not confirmed (i.e., nominations withdrawn by the
President or returned to the President at some point in the Congress, with most returns
occurring at a Congress’s final adjournment). Calculations of time averages for all
nominations in a Congress, from nomination date to final disposition (including not
only nominations confirmed, but also those withdrawn or returned) would, it is
acknowledged, produce higher average times, in cases where unconfirmed
nominations were pending for longer times than the average pendency times for
confirmed nominations.115
Figure 1. U.S. Circuit Court Nominations: Average Number of Days
from Nomination to Confirmation, 95th Congress to 109th Congress
(January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006)
250

200

150

100

50

0

115

95th 96th

97th 98th 99th 100th

101st 102nd

103rd 104th 105th 106th

107th108th109th

See Table 8 in CRS Report RL31635, Judicial Nomination Statistics: U.S. District and
Circuit Courts, 1977-2003. This table presents, by Congress (from the 95th through the 1st
session of the 108th) the average number of days elapsing from nomination date to final
action for confirmed nominations, unconfirmed nominations, and confirmed and
unconfirmed nominations combined. The table shows that, from the 100th to the 108th
Congress, the average elapsed time from nomination to final action in a Congress, for circuit
as well as district nominations, was usually, but not always, higher for unconfirmed
nominations than it was for confirmed nominations.

CRS-32
Figure 1 shows, for the circuit nominations of each of the first four Presidents
since January 1977 (Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Clinton), a consistent
pattern — namely, that the lowest average number of days from nomination to
confirmation was recorded in the first Congress during the presidency, and the highest
corresponding average was recorded in the last Congress during the presidency.
Among the first four Presidents, the most dramatic proportional increase within this
pattern was the almost four-fold increase in average number of days from nomination
to confirmation during the Reagan presidency, with a 34-day average in the 97th
Congress (the first Congress during that presidency) to a 119-day average in the 100th
Congress (the last Congress during that presidency). During the years of the first four
presidencies, the highest average number of days from nomination to confirmation,
227 days, was recorded in the 106th Congress, the last Congress during the Clinton
presidency — an average more than twice as long as the 103-day average in the 103rd
Congress, the first Congress during that presidency.
Figure 1 reveals that, thus far, the presidency of the current White House
occupant, George W. Bush, has seen a reversal of the pattern just described. For
President Bush’s circuit court nominations, the lowest average number of days
elapsing from nomination to confirmation, 125 days, was recorded not in the first
Congress during his presidency (the 107th), but in the 109th Congress. Thus far in the
Bush presidency, the highest average number of days elapsing from nomination to
confirmation, 210 days, was recorded in the first Congress during his presidency, the
107th Congress.
Figure 1 also shows that during every Congress from the 102nd to the 109th, the
average nomination-to-confirmation time interval for circuit court nominations has
been more than 100 days. Well above this 100-plus average was the 210-day average
for George W. Bush’s circuit court nominations during the 107th Congress, the first
Congress during his presidency. This average, however, can be seen as roughly at the
same level as the corresponding time averages for William J. Clinton’s circuit court
nominations during the 105th and 106th Congresses (212 days and 227 days
respectively). The average elapsed time of 125 days between nomination and
confirmation for George W. Bush’s circuit nominations in the 109th Congress can be
seen as being in the same approximate range as the corresponding averages for
President Ronald Reagan’s circuit nominations in the 100th Congress (119 days),
George H. W. Bush’s circuit nominations in the 102nd Congress (108 days), and
President Clinton’s circuit nominations in the 103rd and 104th Congresses (103 and 124
days respectively).
District Court Nominations: Average Number of Days from
Nomination to Confirmation. Figure 2, below, like the preceding Figure 1 for
circuit nominations, shows the average number of days that elapsed for district court
nominations, from nomination date to confirmation, during each Congress from the
95th Congress to the 109th Congress. Each bar in Figure 2 indicates the average
number of elapsed days from nomination date to confirmation for a specified
Congress, and under each bar is the name of the President whose presidency coincided
in time with that Congress.
Note: The averages shown in Figure 2 are those only for district court
nominations which ultimately were confirmed in a particular Congress. Excluded
from the calculation of averages were the pendency times in a Congress for

CRS-33
nominations that ultimately were not confirmed, but were withdrawn by the President
or returned to the President at some point in the Congress.
Figure 2. U.S. District Court Nominations: Average Number of Days
from Nomination to Confirmation, 95th Congress to 109th Congress
(January 20, 1977 - December 9, 2006)

Figure 2 shows, among other things, that from the 95th Congress (during the first
two years of the Carter presidency) through the 105th Congress (during the fifth and
sixth years of the Clinton presidency), the average number of elapsed days from
nomination to confirmation for district court nominations per Congress increased
significantly — from a 40-day average in the 95th Congress, to a 165-day average in
the 105th. This overall pattern of increase, however, was marked by drops in the
nomination-to-confirmation time average during the first two years of a presidency
(i.e., with the average dropping from a significantly higher average recorded in the last
two years of the previous presidency), only to be followed by increases in the average
during the subsequent Congress or Congresses of the successor presidency.
The average nomination-to-confirmation time intervals for George W. Bush’s
district court nominations, during the three Congresses coinciding with his presidency,
have all been below the peak average of 165 days, recorded for President Clinton’s
district nominees in the 105th Congress. Relatively close to that peak, however, was
the 156-day average interval recorded for President Bush’s confirmed district
nominees in the 108th Congress and the 143-day average interval recorded for
confirmed district court nominees in the 109th Congress.
Comparison of time averages in Figure 2 with those in Figure 1 also reveals that
in nine of the 15 Congresses in the 1977-2006 time frame, the average time intervals
between nomination and confirmation were less for district than for circuit court
nominations.116 For instance, the nomination-to-confirmation average interval for
William J. Clinton’s district nominations in the 106th Congress was 133 days,
compared with 227 days for his circuit nominations in the same Congress; likewise,

116

In one of the 15 Congresses, the 96th, the average time interval between nomination and
confirmation was the same for circuit and district court nominations — 79 days.

CRS-34
the average interval for George W. Bush’s district nominations in the 107th Congress
was 127 days, compared with 210 days for his circuit nominations in the same
Congress. This, however, was not the pattern for the two most recent Congresses. In
the 108th Congress the average elapsed time between nomination and confirmation for
George W. Bush’s district nominations (156 days) was higher than for his circuit
nominations (140 days), as it was, again, in the 109th Congress (for district court
nominations, 143 days; for circuit nominations, 110 days).
It should be emphasized, as a caveat, that Figures 1 and 2, in accounting only for
nominations confirmed within a Congress, have certain limitations. The figures focus
on the elapsed times of nominations, rather than on nominees, and the time which
elapsed from their first nomination to confirmation of their most recent nomination.
Focusing only on nominations, rather than persons nominated, underestimates how
long individuals awaited confirmation. This is particularly true for courts of appeals
nominees, whose nominations have been returned at a greater rate than district court
nominees under President George W. Bush. Further, failing to account for nominees
who never were confirmed may also understate the average time in pendency for
judicial nominations.
To provide a clearer comparative snapshot, by presidency, of the average time
pending for all nominees, Figures 3 and 4 follow. Over the five most recent
presidencies, the two figures provide, for circuit and district court nominees,
respectively, the average elapsed time from their first nomination to final disposition
of their last nomination, separating confirmed and unconfirmed nominees.

CRS-35
Circuit Court Nominees: Average Number of Days from Nomination
to Final Action. Figure 3, below, shows by President (from Jimmy Carter to
George W. Bush) the average number of days elapsed from date of first nomination
to final action for circuit nominees confirmed, as well as for those not confirmed.117
Figure 3. Average Time to Disposition, Confirmed and Unconfirmed
Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals, by President (January 20,
1977 - December 9, 2006)
800

710

Average Number of Days

700

600

500

439
366

400

319
300

257

249

195
200

104
100

69

68

0
Carter

Reagan

G.H.W. Bush

Clinton

G.W. Bush

President
Confirmed Nominees

Unconfirmed Nominees

Figure 3 demonstrates that the average time to confirmation for circuit court
nominees, after being almost the same for the circuit nominees of Presidents Carter
and Reagan, has since risen steadily. The average elapsed time between first
nomination and confirmation was 69 days for Carter circuit nominees and 68 days for
Reagan nominees. Subsequently, however, with each succeeding presidency, this
time average increased significantly. President George H. W. Bush’s confirmed
nominees to the circuit courts on average waited 104 days to be confirmed (53%
longer than President Reagan’s confirmed nominees), President Clinton’s confirmed
circuit nominees on average waited 249 days (139% longer than George H.W. Bush’s
nominees), and George W. Bush’s circuit court nominees waited, on average, 366
days to be confirmed (47% longer than President Clinton’s nominees). When using
the Reagan and current Bush presidencies as points of reference, Figure 3 shows,
George W. Bush’s confirmed circuit court nominees have taken, on average, more
than five times as long as President Reagan’s circuit nominees to be confirmed (366
versus 68 days).

117

The numbers shown in Figure 3 were calculated from a CRS nominations database
derived in large part from data available in the Presidential Nominations database in the
Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS), available at
[http://www.congress.gov/nomis/search.html]. Data for the 95th and 96th Congresses were
collected from the Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate.

CRS-36
For circuit court nominees not confirmed, Figure 3 reveals that the average
elapsed time between first nomination and final disposition of last nomination has, by
presidency, also risen steadily, since the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Specifically,
the average elapsed times for unconfirmed circuit court nominees between first
nomination and final disposition of their last nomination was as follows: for nominees
of President Carter, 195 days; nominees of President Reagan, 257 days; nominees of
President George H.W. Bush, 319 days; nominees of President Clinton, 439 days; and
nominees of President George W. Bush, 710 days — three and a half times longer
than the corresponding elapsed time average of 195 days for President Carter’s
unconfirmed circuit court nominees.
The preceding discussion, it should be noted, compares time averages for circuit
nominees of four completed presidencies (Carter through Clinton) with those of a
presidency (George W. Bush’s) which is still in progress. It is, of course, unclear
to what extent the time averages for President Bush’s circuit nominees, for his
presidency after two completed terms, will be affected by Senate consideration of his
nominations in the 110th Congress.
District Court Nominees: Average Number of Days from Nomination
to Final Action. Figure 4, below, shows, by President (from Jimmy Carter to
George W. Bush) the average number of days elapsed from date of first nomination
to final action for district court nominees confirmed, as well as for those not
confirmed.118
Figure 4 demonstrates that the average time to confirmation, after being 70 days
both for the distric

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL31868. Public record. Not legal advice.