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WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the confirmation of Caitlin J. Halligan, a prominent New York lawyer, to become a federal appeals court judge in the District of Columbia, the second time in two years Republicans have filibustered her nomination.

The Senate, in a 51-to-41 vote, fell well short of the 60-vote threshold needed to cut off debate and bring Ms. Halligan's nomination to a vote. The largely party-line vote, with only Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, joining with Democrats in favor of ending debate, was reminiscent of the previous filibuster of Ms. Halligan — another largely party line vote of 54 to 45.

Many Republicans said they oppose Ms. Halligan's nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit because of what they say is her history of legal activism; most specifically, they say that as the solicitor general of New York State, she worked to advance the "dubious legal theory," in the words of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, that gun manufacturers could be held legally responsible for criminal acts committed with their guns.

"In short, Ms. Halligan's record of advocacy and her activist view of the judiciary lead me to conclude that she would bring that activism to the court," Mr. McConnell, the Republican leader, said on the Senate floor. "Because of her record of activism, giving Ms. Halligan a lifetime appointment on the D.C. Circuit is a bridge too far."

Democrats said that Republicans were interested mainly in stalling any appointments by President Obama to the influential court, which reviews many critical cases on government powers. They said that Republicans could not point to a single case of judicial activism on Ms. Halligan's part, and that during her time as solicitor general, she was simply doing her job and acting in the interests of the State of New York.

"I challenge the other side to give me one instance where they disagree with something that Ms. Halligan stated as her own views as opposed to representing someone as a lawyer should," Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the No. 3 Democrat, said on the Senate floor. "What's going on is our colleagues want to keep the second-most important court in the land, the D.C. Circuit, vacant, because right now there are four vacancies and the majority of those on the court have been appointees of Republican presidents and, in fact, are very conservative."

Ms. Halligan's nomination was the latest test of the "Gang of 14 deal" reached in 2005 under President George W. Bush, in which seven Democrats and seven Republicans joined together to allow up-or-down votes on certain high-level judicial nominees except in the case of "extraordinary circumstances."

Only five members of the original Gang of 14 remain in the Senate — three Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona, and two Democrats, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas — and the three Republicans all voted against allowing a vote on Ms. Halligan.

When asked if their vote was in the spirit of the 2005 agreement or a filibuster reform deal reached this year, several Republicans said Ms. Halligan's nomination met the "extraordinary circumstances" threshold.

"I think it meets the extraordinary circumstances, because of her extraordinary egregious record," Mr. McCain said. "This is an extraordinary circumstance."

Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, similarly said he was looking to the Bush-era agreement in voting against Ms. Halligan's nomination.

Democrats and the White House were expected to regroup and discuss strategy for trying to fill the vacancies on the district appeals court.