Welcome to the Feb. 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.

A little while, a little while,

The weary task is put away,

And I can sing and I can smile,

Alike, while I have holiday.

-Emily Brontë

We dedicate this poetry snippet to Mondays; they can drag on. But fear not, dear reader. We’re here to break the Monday blues with some federal court updates. So get cozy, and let’s gavel in!

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Grants

SCOTUS has accepted three new cases to its merits docket since our Jan. 20 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 64 cases for the 2024-2025 term and one case for its 2025-2026 term. By this time during the 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS had agreed to hear 61 cases. 

Click the links below to learn more about these cases:

• Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Davis originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and concerns whether a federal court can certify a class action suit when some members of the suit lack any Article III injury.
• Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond concerns whether a private school’s actions are considered state actions because the school has a contract with the state to offer free education to students. The Court also will consider whether excluding private religious schools from Oklahoma’s charter school program violates the First Amendment. The case originated from the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
• Martin v. United States (2025) originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and concerns whether the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause allows the state to be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Arguments

The Supreme Court will not hear any arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.

In its October 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 62 cases. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ previous term.

Opinions

SCOTUS has ruled on one case since our Jan. 20 edition. The court has issued rulings in eight cases so far this term. Fifty-seven cases are still under deliberation. By this time during the 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS had ruled on three cases.

Jan. 21

Andrew v. White was decided without argument on Jan. 21.

The case concerns whether clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court forbids the prosecution’s use of a woman’s plainly irrelevant sexual history, gender presentation, and role as a mother and wife to determine guilt and punishment.

The outcome: In a per curiam decision, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The court held that at the time of the decision of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, clearly established federal law provided that the incorrect admission of unduly prejudicial evidence could cause a criminal trial to be unfair in violation of due process.

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 Jan. 2 to Feb. 1. 

Highlights

• Vacancies: There have been seven new judicial vacancies since the Jan. 1 report. There are 42 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, 42 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.  
• Nominations: There were no new nominations since the January 2025 report. 
• Confirmations: There were no new confirmations since the January 2025 report.

Vacancy count for January 1, 2025

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

Seven 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 William Johnson assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
• Judge Christopher Conner retired from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
• Judge Kent Jordan retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Judge Andrew Hanen assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
• Judge Scott Coogler retired from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
• Judge Jeffrey Meyer left the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut when he died on Jan. 12.
• Judge Danny Reeves assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The following chart shows the number of vacancies in the U.S. Courts of Appeals from President Donald Trump’s (R) inauguration to the date indicated on the chart.

U.S. District Court vacancies

The following map shows the number of vacancies in the U.S. District Courts as of Feb. 1.

New nominations

Since taking office for his second term, President Trump has not nominated any individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.

New confirmations

There were no new confirmations since the previous report.

Comparison of Article III judicial appointments over time by president (1981-Present)

• From Ronald Reagan (R) through Donald Trump (R), no president made Article III judicial appointments through Feb. 1 of their first year.
• President Joe Biden (D) made the most appointments through four years with 235. President Reagan made the fewest through four years with 166.
• President Bill Clinton (D) made the most appointments through two years with 128. President Barack Obama (D) made the fewest with 62.
• President Reagan made the most appointments through one year in office with 41. President Obama made the fewest with 13.

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.

Correction: In our Jan. 20 edition of Robe & Gavel, there was an error in our grants section. We listed Bowe v. United States as part of SCOTUS’s 2024-2025 term. The court will hear this case during its 2025-2026 term. SCOTUS has accepted 64 cases for its 2024-2025 term and one case for its 2025-2026 term. We regret the error.

Looking ahead

We’ll be back on Feb. 24 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.