In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from December 2, 2024, to December 31, 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 December 2024 report. There are 39 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, 39 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There have been no new nominations since the previous report.
- Confirmations: There have been 14 new confirmations since the previous report.
New vacancies
There were 39 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 4.5%, which is 0.3 percentage points lower than the vacancy percentage in the December 2024 report.
- The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
- Two (1.1%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
- 37 (5.5%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
- None 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 in December 2024, 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 Loretta Copeland Biggs assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
- Judge Catherine Eagles assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
- Judge Lorna Schofield assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals as of January 1, 2025.
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of January 1, 2025.
The following chart shows the number of federal judicial vacancies each month during President Joe Biden’s (D) administration from January 20, 2021, to January 1, 2025.
New nominations
Biden has announced no new nominations since the previous report.
Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 252 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
Since the previous report, the U.S. Senate has confirmed 14 of Biden’s nominees to Article III seats:
- Anne Hwang, to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- Brian Murphy, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Sparkle Sooknanan, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Gail Weilheimer, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Catherine Henry, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- Elizabeth Coombe, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- Anthony Brindisi, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- Sarah Davenport, to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico
- Tiffany Johnson, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- Keli Neary, to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- Cynthia Valenzuela, to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- Noël Wise, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Benjamin Cheeks, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- Serena R. Murillo, to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
As of January 1, 2025, the Senate had confirmed 235 of Biden’s judicial nominees—187 district court judges, 45 appeals court judges, two international trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice.
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