Senatorial Courtesy

Definition of Senatorial Courtesy

Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Senatorial Courtesy legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia

A folkway or informal norm of the Senate governing review of nominees for various federal positions. The practice of senatorial courtesy requires that a president confer with Senate members of his party from the state in which a federal appointment is to be made. Federal positions to which senatorial courtesy applies are U.S. District Court judges, U.S. Attorneys, and a number of executive agency offices. Senatorial courtesy gives home-state senators at least a veto on prospective nominees not to their liking. More often, it provides Senate members with an opportunity to suggest names to the president. The Senate will normally defer to the choices of colleagues. A president who fails to secure at least the concurrence of a home-state Senate member runs a substantial risk of having the nominee rejected. Rejection of nominees for lower federal courts takes place through a technique known as the “blue slip.” When a nomination is formally presented to the Senate, it is printed on a blue slip of paper. If a senator has been sufficiently involved with Justice Department representatives in the choice of the nominee, the blue slip is not returned to the chair of the Senate Judiciary (Law of the United States) Committee. By not returning the slip, the senator expresses no objection to the nominee. If, on the other hand, the senator disapproves for some reason, the blue slip is returned and the nomination is rejected.

See Also

Advice and Consent (Law of the United States); SENATE Judiciary (Law of the United States) COMMITTEE, 115.

Resources

Senatorial Courtesy Related Resources

• Senatorial Courtesy in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Personnel Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
• Judicial Personnel Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary

Notes

• “Senatorial Courtesy”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Senatorial Courtesy (Judicial Personnel)