In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from January 2, 2024, to February 1, 2024. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the January 2024 report.
- Nominations: There have been six new nominations since the previous report.
- Confirmations: There have been nine new confirmations since the previous report.
New vacancies
There were 58 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 6.7%, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than the vacancy percentage in January 2024. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 59 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has no vacancies.
- Three (2%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
- 51 (8%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
- Two (22%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.
A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms.
Three judges left active status since the January 2024 report, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these 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.
- Judge Malachy Mannion assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
- Judge Sarah Vance assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
- Judge Beryl A. Howell assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
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 February 1, 2024.
New nominations
Biden has announced six new nominations since the previous report.
- Amir Ali, to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Melissa DuBose, to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
- Sunil Harjani, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Rebecca Kanter, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
- Robert White, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- Jasmine Yoon, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 209 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
Since the previous report, the U.S. Senate has confirmed nine of Biden’s nominees to Article III seats:
- Cristal Brisco, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
- Jacquelyn Austin, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
- Joshua Kolar, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Kirk Sherriff, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Karoline Mehalchick, to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Gretchen Lund, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
- Lisa Wang, to the U.S. Court of International Trade
- S. Kato Crews, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- John Kazen, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
As of February 1, 2024, the Senate has confirmed 175 of Biden’s judicial nominees—133 district court judges, 40 appeals court judges, one international trade judge, and one Supreme Court justice.
Additional reading: