In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of June through July 1, 2022. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the May 2022 report. There are 75 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, 77 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were nine new nominations since the May 2022 report.
- Confirmations: There were three confirmations since the May 2022 report.
Three judges left their respective courts, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, 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 Michael Kanne died on June 16, 2022
- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson left the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upon her elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Judge Timothy Hillman assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Massachusetts
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) and at 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 July 1, 2022.
U.S. District Court vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of July 1, 2022.
New nominations
Biden announced nine new nominations since the previous report. Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 105 individuals to Article III positions.
- Roopali Desai to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- Dana Douglas to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit
- Bradley Garcia to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- María Antongiorgi-Jordán to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- Gina Méndez-Miró to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
- Frances Kay Behm to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- Jerry Blackwell to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
- Camille Vélez-Rivé to the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
New confirmations
The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees since the previous report.
- Ana de Alba to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Robert Huie to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
- Nina Morrison to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
As of July 1, 2022, the Senate had confirmed 69 of Biden’s judicial nominees—52 district court judges, 16 appeals court judges, and one Supreme Court justice. To review a complete list of Biden’s confirmed nominees, click here.
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