In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from Aug. 2 to Sept. 1. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.

HIGHLIGHTS

Vacancies: There have been four new judicial vacancies since the July 2021 report. There are 83 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, 87 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.

Nominations: There were three new nominations since the July 2021 report.

Confirmations: There was one confirmation since the July 2021 report.

Four judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

1. Judge Barbara Milano Keenan assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
2. Judge James Jones assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
3. Judge David M. Lawson assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
4. Judge Lynn Winmill assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.

U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies

The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) to the date indicated on the chart.

The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at Biden’s inauguration and as of Sept. 1, 2021.

New nominations

Biden has announced three new nominations since the July 2021 report.

1. Beth Robinson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
2. Mary Dimke, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
3. Charlotte Sweeney, to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado

New confirmations

As of Sept. 1, the Senate has confirmed nine of Biden’s judicial nominees—five district court judges and four appeals court judges—since January 2021.

1. Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
2. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
3. Tiffany Cunningham, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
4. Eunice Lee, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
5. Deborah Boardman, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
6. Lydia Kay Griggsby, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
7. Julien Xavier Neals, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
8. Zahid Quraishi, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
9. Regina Rodriguez, to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado

Additional reading:

• Current federal judicial vacancies
• Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
• Federal judicial appointments by president
• Judicial vacancies during Biden’s first term
• United States federal courts