Welcome to the July 27 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.

Bend low again, night of summer stars.

So near you are, sky of summer stars, 

So near, a long-arm man can pick off stars, 

Pick off what he wants in the sky bowl, 

So near you are, summer stars, 

So near, strumming, strumming, 

                So lazy and hum-strumming.

- Carl Sandburg

“Summer Stars”

We hope you’re keeping cool in the summer heat, dear reader. Today, in addition to our usual federal court updates, we’re going to compare the 2025 term to past SCOTUS terms. Let's gavel in!

Follow Ballotpedia on X and Bluesky or subscribe to the Daily Brew for the latest news and analysis.

We #SCOTUS and you can, too!

Grants

SCOTUS has accepted one new case to its merits docket since our July 13 issue. The court has accepted 25 cases for the 2026–2027 term.  

Click the links below to learn more about these cases:

• Jouppi v. Alaska originated from the Alaska Supreme Court and concerns the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment.

Federal court action

Nominations

President Donald Trump (R) has not announced any new Article III nominees since our July 13 edition.

Committee action

The Senate Judiciary Committee has reported seven new nominees out of committee since our July 13 edition.

• Daniel Traynor, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Angela Colmenero, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• Kasdin Mitchell, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
• Michael C. Martin, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Antonio Pozos, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Daniel Domenico, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Matthew Byrne, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Confirmations

The Senate has confirmed eight nominees since our July 13 issue.

• Antonio Pozos, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Daniel Traynor, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Michael C. Martin, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Benjamin Flowers, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Kara Westercamp, to the U.S. Court of International Trade
• Rob Jones, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• Matthew Schwartz, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Jeffrey Kuntz, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard an average of 60 arguments since the 2021 term. The following table shows the number of arguments SCOTUS has heard over the past five terms. 

5-4 Opinions by term

The U.S. Supreme Court has released an average of 7.4 5-4 decisions since the 2021 term. The following table shows the number of 5-4 opinions SCOTUS has released over the past five terms. 

Decisions issued by year

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an average of 63 decisions since the 2021 term. The following table shows the number of opinions SCOTUS has released over the past five terms. 

Justices who authored the most opinions by year

Vacancies

The federal judiciary currently has 24 vacancies, all of which are for lifetime Article III judgeships. As of publication, there were eight pending nominations.

According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, there were 13 upcoming vacancies in the federal judiciary, where judges have announced their intention to leave active judicial status.

For more information on judicial vacancies during President Trump’s term, click here.

Do you love judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? We figured you might. Our monthly Federal Vacancy Count monitors all the faces and places moving in, moving out, and moving on in the federal judiciary. Click here for our most current count.

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 our list for updates on federal judicial nominations.

Looking ahead

We’ll be back on Aug. 10 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.