Description of Report's Following Sections

Senators, recent debate has shown, have differed on how many U.S. circuit and district court nominations the Senate should confirm in 2012 and how late in the year it should continue to confirm them. They have disagreed as to what guidance, if any, previous presidential election years provide to the Senate regarding these questions. Further, they have differed specifically on whether slowing down, or stopping, the processing of judicial nominations at a certain point during this session of Congress, or after a certain number of nominees have been confirmed, would be in keeping with the Senate's experience in past presidential election years. This report seeks to help inform the above debate, by analyzing the number and timing of circuit court and district court nominations confirmed by the Senate in presidential election years dating back to 1980. The report compares the processing of judicial nominations during these years, using various quantitative measures, while relating its findings to the Senate's processing of judicial nominations in 2012 through the month of June. In successive sections, the report analyzes the following, for presidential election years from 1980 to 2008:
the number and percentage of circuit and district court nominees confirmed by the Senate in each election year; the percentage of confirmed lower court nominees who were approved by the Senate during each month across the eight election years; the extent to which Senate confirmations of judicial nominees tended to drop off in the second half of election years; the last dates on which the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate considered or acted on judicial nominations in each election year; the average cumulative number of judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate at the end of nine successive months (February through October); and the extent to which judgeship vacancy rates in the circuit and district courts have risen or fallen in each election year. Number and Percentage of Nominees Confirmed in Presidential Election Years

As shown by Table 1 , the number of circuit and district court nominees confirmed during presidential election years varied during the 1980 to 2008 period, ranging from 2 to 11 and 18 to 55, respectively. In 2012, as of June 30, 24 of 52 pending election-year district court nominees, or 46.2%, have been confirmed. Specifically, of the 57 circuit court nominees confirmed during presidential election years from 1980 to 2008, most were confirmed in February (14.0%), May (15.8%), June (21.1%), and October (14.0%). Of the 280 district court nominees confirmed during the same eight presidential election years, most were confirmed in February (11.8%), May (15.7%), June (20.0%), September (11.4%), and October (10.0%). In contrast, from 1996 to 2008, nearly all confirmed circuit court nominees (18 of 19, or 94.7%) were approved during the first six months of the year. During the more recent presidential election years (1996 to 2008), a greater percentage of district court nominees were confirmed in the second half of the year (45.7%) than were approved post-June during the 1980 to 1992 presidential election years (35.4%). In the four most recent completed presidential election years, however, the Senate has not confirmed circuit court nominees after July. During the 1980 to 2008 presidential election years, the last confirmation dates of district court nominees—occurring in September or later in seven of the eight years—are in contrast to the last dates of circuit court confirmations during the four most recent election years (1996 to 2008). The figure shows, for example, that the average number of circuit court nominees confirmed by the end of June during the presidential election years of 1980 to 2008 was five, the same number of circuit nominees that the Senate in 2012 confirmed by the end of June. During certain presidential election years in the 1980 to 2008 period, Senate confirmation rates appeared related to the rise or fall in judicial vacancy rates over the course of the year.
In 2012, a presidential election year, an ongoing subject of debate in the Senate has been how many U.S. circuit and district court nominations should be confirmed by year's end, and how late in the year the Senate should continue to confirm them. Senators have disagreed as to what guidance, if any, previous presidential election years provide to the Senate regarding these questions. They have differed specifically on whether slowing down, or stopping, the processing of judicial nominations at a certain point during this session of Congress, or after a certain number of nominees have been confirmed, would be in keeping with the Senate's experience in past presidential election years.
This report seeks to help inform the debate, by analyzing the number and timing of circuit court and district court nominations confirmed by the Senate in presidential election years from 1980 to 2008. The report compares the processing of judicial nominations during these years, using various quantitative measures, while relating its findings to the Senate's processing of judicial nominations in 2012, as of June 30.
Findings in the report include the following:
The greatest and smallest numbers of circuit court nominees confirmed during a presidential election year in the 1980 to 2008 period were 11 and 2, compared with 5 confirmed thus far in 2012. Annual percentages of nominees confirmed ranged from 71.4% to 18.2%, compared with 41.7% confirmed in 2012, as of June 30. The greatest and smallest numbers of district court nominees confirmed in the 1980 to 2008 election years were 55 and 18, compared with 24 confirmed in 2012, as of June 30. Annual percentages of nominees confirmed ranged from 77.9% to 46.2%—the latter identical to 46.2% confirmed in 2012, as of June 30. Of 57 circuit court nominees confirmed during presidential election years from 1980 to 2008, most were confirmed in February (14.0% ), May (15.8%), June (21.1%), and October (14.0%). Of 280 district court nominees confirmed during presidential election years from 1980 to 2008, most were confirmed in February (11.8%), May (15.7%), June (20.0%), and September (11.4%). In the four most recent presidential election years, 1996 to 2008, Senate confirmation of circuit court nominees almost completely stopped after June 30, with 18 of 19 (94.7%) confirmed in the first six months of the year. In contrast, during presidential election years from 1980 to 1992, approximately 42% of circuit court nominees were confirmed post-June. In contrast, in the four most recent presidential election years,1996 to 2008, a greater percentage of district court nominees were confirmed in the second half of the year (45.7%) than were confirmed after June 30 in the four previous election years of 1980 to 1992 (35.4%). During the presidential election years from 1980 to 1992, the Senate confirmed circuit court nominees as late as October (in three of the years) and December (in the fourth year). By contrast, in the four more recent election years, 1996 to 2008, the Senate did not confirm a circuit nominee after July. In seven of the eight election years, the last district court nominee was confirmed in September or later. During the 1980 to 2008 presidential election years, the Senate annually confirmed an average of five circuit court nominees by the end of June, the same number as confirmed by the Senate in 2012, as of June 30. The Senate confirmed an average of 21 district court nominees by the end of June during the 1980 to 2008 presidential election years, compared with 24 confirmed by the Senate in 2012, as of June 30. Circuit court judgeship vacancy rates declined between January 1 and December 31 in six of eight presidential election years from 1980 to 2008. District judgeship vacancy rates declined in four of the election years. During certain election years, Senate confirmation rates appeared related to the rise or fall in judicial vacancy rates.