U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations Confirmed During Lame Duck Sessions of Congress (1940-2021)
INSIGHTi
U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations
Confirmed During Lame Duck Sessions of
Congress (1940-2021)
October 3, 2022
This Insight provides information and analysis related to the number of U.S. circuit and district court
nominees confirmed by the Senate during lame duck sessions of Congress from 1940 to 2021. For the
purpose of this Insight, a lame duck session is defined as the period of time when Congress was in session
after a November general election and prior to the beginning of a new Congress.
After the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted in 1933 (which, in part, changed the
convening date for a new Congress to January 3 of odd-numbered years), the first lame duck session of
Congress occurred during the 76th Congress from November 7, 1940, to January 2, 1941 (in the House)
and to January 3, 1941 (in the Senate). For additional information, generally, about lame duck sessions of
Congress, see CRS Report R45154, Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74th-115th
Congresses), by Jane A. Hudiburg.
Overview of Nominations Confirmed Since 1940
Of the 23 lame duck sessions that have occurred since the adoption of the Twentieth Amendment, the
Senate was in session during 22 (the sole exception was the lame duck session of the 105th Congress).
As shown by Table 1, of the 22 lame duck sessions during which the Senate was in session, U.S. circuit
and/or district court nominations were confirmed in 16 (73%). It has, however, been more common for
nominations to be confirmed during relatively more recent lame duck sessions. For example, of the six
sessions from the 111th Congress (2010) to the 116th Congress (2020-21), nominations were confirmed in
five (83%).
The six most recent lame duck sessions also account for a relatively large percentage of the total number
of circuit and district court nominations confirmed during lame duck sessions held since 1940. Overall, a
total of 153 nominations were confirmed by the Senate during such sessions. Of the 153 nominations, 73
(or nearly half, 48%), were confirmed during the six most recent lame duck sessions since 2010.
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Table 1. Number of U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominees Confirmed During Lame
Duck Sessions of Senate
(1940-2021)
Number of Nominees Confirmed
Congress
Date of Lame Duck Session
in Senatea
Circuit
District
Total
76th
11/07/1940-01/03/1941b
0
0
0
77th
11/05/1942-12/16/1942
0
1
1
78th
11/14/1944-12/19/1944
0
2
2
80th
12/31/1948
0
0
0
81st
11/27/1950-01/02/1951
1
7
8
83rd
11/08/1954-12/02/1954
1
2
3
91st
11/16/1970-01/02/1971
2
19
21
93rd
11/18/1974-12/20/1974
2
13
15
96th
11/12/1980-12/16/1980
1
0
1
97th
11/29/1982-12/23/1982
0
5
5
103rd
11/30/1994-12/1/1994
0
0
0
106th
11/14/2000-12/15/2000
0
0
0
107th
11/7/2002-11/20/2002
3
`17
20
108th
11/16/2004-12/8/2004
0
3
3
109th
11/13/2006-12/8/2006
1
0
1
110th
11/17/2008-12/11/2008
0
0
0
111th
11/4/2010-12/22/2010
5
14
19
112th
11/6/2012-01/02/2013
0
13
13
113th
11/12/2014-12/16/2014
0
27
27
114th
11/15/2016-01/03/2017
0
0
0
115th
11/09/2018-01/03/2019
1
0
1
116th
11/09/2020-01/03/2021
1
12
13
Source: Congressional Research Service
Notes:
a. All pro forma sessions held during these lame duck sessions are included in the date ranges presented in the table.
The lame duck session during the 80th Congress lasted for a single day. Not included in the table is the lame duck
session for the 105th Congress, during which only the U.S. House was in session.
b. J. Warren Madden was the first judicial nominee, generally, to be confirmed during a lame duck session. He was
confirmed as a judge to the United States Court of Claims on January 2, 1941.
The confirmation of circuit and district court nominations during lame duck sessions has occurred
following elections both when there was a change in party control of the Senate (including whether it was
uncertain it would change) and when the majority party in the chamber didn’t change.
Overall, 79 (52%) of the nominations confirmed during lame duck sessions were confirmed when there
was a change in party control following an election (including if majority control remained uncertain for
the next Congress) and 74 (48%) of the nominations were confirmed when there wasn’t a change in
control.
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Additionally, the confirmation of circuit and district court nominations occurred during lame duck
sessions when the Senate met to conduct business on policy matters unrelated to judicial nominations.
During the lame duck session of the 107th Congress (2002), for example, Congress passed legislation
creating the Department of Homeland Security and adopted the Intelligence Authorization Act for
FY2003. The Senate also confirmed 3 circuit and 17 district court nominations during this particular lame
duck session.
Circuit Court Nominations
The first circuit court nominee approved during a lame duck session was John Patrick Hartigan, a
nominee of President Truman who was confirmed by the Senate during the 81st Congress on January 2,
1951.
It has been less common for the Senate to confirm circuit court nominations than district court
nominations during lame duck sessions. Of the 22 such sessions included in Table 1, circuit court
nominations were approved in 10 (45%) and district court nominations were approved in 13 (59%).
Overall, a total of 18 circuit court nominations have been confirmed during lame duck sessions—with 7
(39%) being confirmed during the six most recent lame duck sessions. The greatest number of circuit
court nominations confirmed during any lame duck session since 1940 was five (during the 111th
Congress in 2010).
District Court Nominations
The first district court nominee approved during a lame duck session was Louis Earl Goodman, a
nominee of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was confirmed by the Senate during the 77th Congress
on December 15, 1942.
Overall, 135 district court nominations have been confirmed during lame duck sessions—with 66 (49%)
being confirmed during the six most recent lame duck sessions. The greatest number of district court
nominations confirmed during any lame duck session since 1940 was 27 (during the 113th Congress in
2014).
Author Information
Barry J. McMillion
Analyst in American National Government
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