Welcome to the June 10 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.
This is it, dear readers. We are past the halfway mark of SCOTUS opinions, with a brand new batch of updates for you. So take a seat, grab a drink to beat the heat, and let’s gavel in!
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Grants
SCOTUS has accepted two new cases to its merits docket since our May 13 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 10 cases for the 2024-2025 term. The court has not yet scheduled the cases for argument.
Click the links below to learn more about these cases:
- City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. and concerns the Clean Water Act.
- Delligatti v. United States concerns 18 U.S. Code § 924 – Penalties § 924(c), a U.S. law establishing a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment for carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. The case originated from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Arguments
The Supreme Court will not hear any arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.
In its October 2022 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 60 cases. One case was dismissed. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ previous term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has ruled on 12 cases since our May 13 edition. The court has issued rulings in 32 cases so far this term. One case was dismissed.
Click the links below to read more about the specific cases SCOTUS ruled on since May 13:
May 16
- Harrow v. Department of Defense
- Smith v. Spizzirri
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Limited
May 23
- Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
- Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski
- Brown v. United States (Consolidated with Jackson v. United States)
May 30
June 6
- Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum Company, Inc.
- Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service
- Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe
Upcoming SCOTUS dates
Here are the court’s upcoming dates of interest:
- June 10: SCOTUS will issue orders.
- June 13: SCOTUS will conference. A conference is a private meeting of the justices.
The Federal Vacancy Count
The Federal Vacancy Count tracks vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts in a one-month period. This month’s edition includes nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from May 2 to June 1.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the May 13 report. There are 44 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 45 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There have been eight new nominations since the May 2024 report.
- Confirmations: There have been seven new confirmations since the May 2024 report.
Vacancy count for June 1
A breakdown of the vacancies at each level can be found in the table below. For a more detailed look at the vacancies in the federal courts, click here.
*Though the United States territorial courts are named as district courts, they are not Article III courts. They are created in accordance with the power granted under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Click here for more information.
New vacancies
Three judges left active status since the previous vacancy count, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. The president nominates individuals to fill Article III judicial position vacancies. Nominations are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
- Judge Jon Levy assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.
- Judge Gene Pratter left the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania upon her death.
- Judge Cormac Carney retired from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies in the U.S. Courts of Appeals from President Joe Biden’s (D) inauguration to the date indicated on the chart.
U.S. District Court vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies in theU.S. District Courts as of June 1.
New nominations
President Biden announced eight new nominations since the May 2024 report:
- Embry Kidd, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Adam Abelson, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- Joseph Saporito, to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Meredith Vacca, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- Karla Campbell, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Julia Lipez, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Catherine Henry, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Mary Kay Lanthier, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont
The president has announced 238 Article III judicial nominations since taking office on Jan. 20, 2021. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.
New confirmations
As of June 1, the Senate has confirmed 201 of President Biden’s judicial nominees—156 district court judges, 42 appeals court judges, two international trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice—since January 2021.
- Angela Martinez, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- Dena Coggins, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Seth Aframe, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Krissa Lanham, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- Camela Theeler, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South
- Sanket Bulsara, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Eric Schulte, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
Comparison of Article III judicial appointments over time by president (1981-Present)
- Presidents have made an average of 172.6 judicial appointments through June 1 of their fourth year in office.
- President Joe Biden (D) made the most appointments through June 1 of his fourth year with 201. President Ronald Reagan (R) made the fewest with 137.
- President Donald Trump (R) made the most appointments through four years with 234. President Ronald Reagan (R) made the fewest through four years with 166.
- President Ronald Reagan (R) made the most appointments through one year in office with 41. President Barack Obama (D) made the fewest with 13.
- President Bill Clinton (D) made the most appointments through two years with 128. President Barack Obama (D) made the fewest with 62.
Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.
Or, keep an eye on this list for updates on federal judicial nominations.
Looking ahead
We’ll be back on July 8 with a new edition of Robe & Gavel. Until then, gaveling out!
Contributions
Myj Saintyl compiled and edited this newsletter, with contributions from Sam Post, and Ellie Mikus.