Welcome to the March 9 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.
"The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them."
-Ida B. Wells
African American civil rights advocate and journalist
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Grants
SCOTUS has accepted one new case to its merits docket since our March 2 issue. To date, the Court has agreed to hear 58 cases for argument for the 2025-2026 term and four cases for the 2026-2027 term.
Arguments
The Supreme Court will not hear any arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS' current term.
In its October 2024 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 65 cases. Click here to read more about SCOTUS's previous term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has ruled on three cases since our March 2 edition. The Court has issued rulings in 19 cases so far this term. This includes five per curiam opinions.
Click the links below to read more about the specific cases SCOTUS ruled on since March 2:
March 2
Mirabelli v. Bonta was decided without argument.
March 4
Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corporation was argued before the court on Jan. 14.
The case concerns interstate sovereign immunity.
The outcome: In a unanimous opinion, SCOTUS reversed and remanded the decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The Court held that because the New Jersey Transit Corporation is not an arm of the New Jersey state government, it is not entitled to share in the state’s interstate sovereign immunity.
Urias-Orellana v. Bondi was argued before the court on Dec. 1, 2025.
The case concerns the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The outcome: In a unanimous opinion, SCOTUS affirmed the decision of the U.S Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The Court held that the INA requires application of the substantial-evidence standard to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ determination of whether a set of undisputed facts rises to the level of persecution under 8 U.S.C §1101(a)(42).
The Federal Vacancy Count
The Federal Vacancy Count tracks vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all U.S. 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 have been no new judicial vacancies since the February 2026 report. There are 37 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. territorial courts, 38 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were seven new nominations since the February 2026 report.
- Confirmations: There were six new confirmations since the February 2026 report.
Vacancy count for March
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 U.S. 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
No judges have left active status since the previous vacancy count. The president nominates individuals to fill Article III vacancies. Nominations are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
The following chart tracks 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
President Trump announced seven new nominations since the Feb. 2026 report:
- Kara Westercamp, to the U.S. Court of International Trade
- Sheria Clarke, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
- Katie Lane, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- Justin Smith, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
- Tony Powell, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
- Tony Mattivi, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
- Jeffrey Kuhlman, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
New confirmations
As of March 1, the Senate has confirmed 33 of President Trump's judicial nominees—27 district court judges and 6 appeals court judges—since January 2025. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.
- David Fowlkes, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
- Nicholas Ganjei, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
- Aaron Peterson, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska.
- Megan Benton, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
- Brian Lea, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
- Justin Olson, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Comparison of Article III judicial appointments over time by president (1981-Present)
- Presidents have made an average of 37 judicial appointments through March 1 of their second year in office. President Barack Obama (D) had the most appointees confirmed with 50, and President George W. Bush (R) had the fewest confirmations with 23.
- President Bill Clinton (D) made the most appointments through four years with 174. President W. Bush made the fewest through four years with 122.
- President Obama made the most appointments through two years with 134. President W. Bush made the fewest with 54.
- President Obama made the most appointments through one year in office with 45. President W. Bush made the fewest with 22.
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.
Looking ahead
We’ll be back on March 23 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.