Outsider Participation and Influence in Judicial Confirmation Hearings, 1979-2004

Abstract

<jats:p>In this paper outsider participation in confirmation hearings for U.S. Court of Appeals nominees from 1979 to 2004 is examined. Findings indicate that outsider testimony has been absent since 1995, and that the factors that determined whether or not outsiders testified prior to 1995 do not account for the elimination of outsider testimony in recent years. Outsiders continue to be involved in the confirmation process through the low-cost activity of submitting materials to the Senate Judiciary Committee for the hearing record. When such materials are submitted—whether in support of or in opposition to confirmation—the nominee is less likely to be confirmed. Even with the recent elimination of hearing testimony as an avenue for outsider involvement in the confirmation process, interested outsiders continue to influence confirmation prospects through the use of a low-cost, formal lobbying activity.</jats:p>