4
confirmed, at all levels of the federal judicial system (Bell 2002; Binder 2001; Binder &
Maltzman 2002; Goldman 2003; Hartley & Holmes 1997, 2002; Martinek, Kemper & Van
Winkle 2002; Shipan & Shannon 2003).
2
Hartley & Holmes (1997) report that the time between
referral to committee and confirmation for all lower federal court nominees rose from an average
of 25.4 days for Nixon to an average of 56 days for Clinton. Martinek, Kemper and Van Winkle
(2002) find that this rise in delay is actually rather new: Carter Circuit Court nominees took an
average of 50.9 days to move from nomination to confirmation, while Clinton Circuit Court
nominees took an average of 100.3 days. Looking specifically at the Clinton years, Cohen
(1998) reports that between 1995 and 1997 the length of time it took between when Clinton
nominated someone for the federal bench to confirmation by the Senate rose from an average of
79 days to an average of 212 days. Finally, Goldman & Slotnick (1999) find that during the
105
th
Congress (1997-1998) the time between receipt of a nomination by the Senate to when the
Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings rose to an average of 231 days. Additionally, they
report that for Clinton’s nominees, the time between they were voted out of committee and voted
on by the full Senate increased from 3.2 days in the 102
nd
Congress to 38.4 days during the 105
th
Congress.
Some of these studies have also attempted to discern why some confirmations move
faster than others. Their findings reveal that there are a number of personal and political factors
that have an effect on how long it takes for nominees to be confirmed (Bell 2002; Binder &
Maltzman 2002; Martinek, Kemper and Van Winkle 2002). These studies do not address,
however, exactly how these confirmations are being delayed or for what reasons. Additionally,
by focusing purely on macro-level analyses, these studies might be uncovering correlations
2
Most of these studies examine only those nominees who were actually confirmed. Additionally, except where
noted, all of these figures include both District Court and Circuit Court nominees.
Convention