Senatorial Delay in Confirming Federal Judges, 1947-1998

Political observers have remarked on a staggering increase in the length of time it takes for the Senate to confirm presidential appointees to the lower federal bench. Here, we focus on the duration of the confirmation process for presidential appointees to the United States Circuit Courts of Appeal between 1947 and 1998 and explain the variation over time in the length of the confirmation process. With newly collected data on the fate of all appellate nominees during that period, we show how ideological incentives and institutional opportunities combine to affect the timing of Senate confirmation of judicial appointees.