American Bar Association - Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary

The Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary (FJC) of the American Bar Association evaluates the professional qualifications of all nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States, circuit courts of appeals, district courts (including territorial district courts) and the Court of International Trade. The Committee’s goal is to support and encourage the selection of the best-qualified persons for the federal judiciary. It restricts its evaluation to issues bearing on professional qualifications and does not consider a nominee's philosophy or ideology. The Committee's peer-review process is structured to achieve impartial evaluations of the integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament of nominees for the federal judiciary.

Committee Membership

The Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary consists of fifteen members - - two members from the Ninth Circuit, one member from each of the other twelve federal judicial circuits and one member-at-large. The members are appointed for staggered three-year terms by the President of the ABA based on their reputations for professional competence, integrity and devotion to public service. Each member of the Standing Committee spends roughly 1,000 hours per year on a voluntary basis to provide this vital public service.

Backgrounder

Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary: What it is and How it Works

For detailed information on the process by which the Standing Committee evaluates each nominee, view the Standing Committee's backgrounder. Please note this updated backgrounder reflects pre-nomination process changes, which primarily involve timing of communications with the Administration, not the Committee's evaluation procedures.

Ratings

Ratings of judicial nominees are posted by Congressional session and are available for those nominated during the 101st Congress to the present. The rating chart for current nominees is updated regularly.

View the 111th Congress
View 101st Congress to the present.

Announcement

On July 1, 2010, Standing Committee testified at the confirmation hearing of Elena Kagan, to be Associate Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.

View Written Statement
View Rating

At the request of the Obama Administration, the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary is conducting its evaluations of the professional qualifications of individuals being considered by the President for nomination to the federal courts other than the Supreme Court.

View "Frequently Asked Questions about the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary"

Written Statements

From time to time, the Committee is asked by the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a confirmation hearing. This primarily occurs whenever a Supreme Court nominee is being considered and in cases where the Committee has rated a nominee "Not Qualified."

View Written Statements

Supreme Court Nominations

Click here for links to the Standing Committee's evaluations of Supreme Court nominations from the 103rd Congress to the present.

View the FJC's Summary of its Evaluation Procedures for Supreme Court nominees

Contact

ABA Staff Liaison: Denise A. Cardman

For press releases, statements and other information regarding the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, please refer to ABA Media Relations federal judicial selection resources.