On October 15, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen assumed senior status in the District of Minnesota, which created a vacancy on that court. Ericksen had first joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R).
As of October 18, there were 98 Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary out of 870 total Article III judgeships, and there were 37 presidential nominees awaiting a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Another 15 nominees were awaiting a committee vote, and 23 other nominees were awaiting a confirmation vote in the full U.S. Senate.
The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota now has six active Article III judges:
- John Tunheim – nominated by President William J. Clinton (D)
- Patrick Schiltz – nominated by President George W. Bush (R)
- Susan Richard Nelson – nominated by President Barack Obama (D)
- Wilhelmina M. Wright – nominated by President Barack Obama (D)
- Nancy E. Brasel – nominated by President Donald J. Trump (R)
- Eric Tostrud – nominated by President Donald J. Trump (R)
The court has eight judges on senior status, including Ericksen. The other seven judges on senior status are:
- Michael James Davis – nominated by President William J. Clinton (D)
- Richard Kyle – nominated by President George H.W. Bush (R)
- David Doty – nominated by President Ronald Reagan (R)
- Paul Magnuson – nominated by President Ronald Reagan (R)
- Donovan Frank – nominated by President William J. Clinton (D)
- Ann Montgomery – nominated by President William J. Clinton (D)
- Donald Alsop – nominated by President Richard Nixon (R)
The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota is one of 94 United States district courts, which are the general trial courts of the nation’s federal court system and where both civil and criminal cases are filed. The District of Minnesota’s main courthouse is based in Minneapolis.