Welcome to the March 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.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
-Maya Angelou
It’s that time again, dear readers. SCOTUS has been working to bring us more opinions, and we’ve got a new batch of federal courts updates for you. Let’s gavel in!
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Grants
SCOTUS has accepted two new cases to its merits docket since our March 3 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 64 cases for the 2024-2025 term and four cases for its 2025-2026 term. By this time during the 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS had agreed to hear 62 cases.
Arguments
The Supreme Court will hear no arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has ruled on two cases since our March 3 edition. The court has issued rulings in 17 cases so far this term. By this time during the 2023-2024 term, SCOTUS had issued rulings in six cases.
Click the links below to read more about the specific cases SCOTUS ruled on since March 3:
March 4
City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency was argued before the court on Oct. 16, 2024.
The case: concerns the Clean Water Act.
The outcome: In a 5-4 opinion, the court reversed the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, holding that the challenged end-result permitting provisions exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Water Act. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the court.
March 5
Bufkin v. Collins was argued before the court on Oct. 16, 2024.
The case: concerns enforcement of the benefit-of-the-doubt rule under Title 38 of the United States Code on military veterans’ benefits claims. The rule means that in veterans’ law cases, the veteran, rather than the government, receives the benefit of the doubt in their claims.
The outcome: In a 7-2 opinion, the court affirmed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. According to 38 USC 5107’s benefit of the doubt rule, “When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, the Secretary shall give the benefit of the doubt to the claimant.” In this case, the claimants are veterans Joshua Bufkin and Norman Thornton. According to Oyez, Bufkin and Thornton were both denied benefits despite evidence that seemed to be in approximate balance of positive and negative evidence. According to 38 U.S.C. § 7261, when reviewing claimants’ appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims should review the Veterans Court’s application of the benefit of the doubt rule.
In this case, SCOTUS was asked to decide whether the application of the benefit of the doubt rule means that the Veterans Court is only required to review the facts of the Veterans Administration for clear error, or should it conduct a more detailed review to determine whether the veteran actually received the benefit of the doubt on approximate balance issues.
SCOTUS held that the Veterans Court is only required to review the application of the benefit of the doubt rule for clear error. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the court.
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 Feb. 2 to March 1.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There was one new judicial vacancy since the Feb. 2 report. There are 43 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, 44 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were no new nominations since the February 2025 report.
- Confirmations: There were no new confirmations since the February 2025 report.
Vacancy count for March 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
One judge left active status since the previous vacancy count, creating an Article III life-term judicial vacancy. The president nominates individuals to fill Article III judicial position vacancies. Nominations are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
- Judge Gregory Frizzell assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
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 March 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 Trump’s (R) second term, no president made Article III judicial appointments through March 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.
Federal courts recent news
Looking ahead
We’ll be back on March 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.