Welcome to the Aug. 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.
It’s your favorite time of the month, dear reader. Our federal vacancy count is out, which means we’ve got a bunch of new updates for you. So grab a seat, and let’s gavel in!
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Grants
SCOTUS has not accepted any new cases to its merits docket since our July 27 issue. The court has accepted 25 cases for the 2026–2027 term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has not ruled on any cases since our July 27 issue. The court issued rulings in 68 cases for the 2025-2026 term.
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 July 2 to Aug. 2.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There have been 25 new judicial vacancies since the July 2026 report. There are 25 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, 25 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were no new nominations since the July 2026 report.
- Confirmations: There were eight new confirmations since the July 2026 report.
Vacancy count for Aug. 1, 2026
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
Two judges created 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 Daniel Traynor was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
- Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove retired from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
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 Aug. 1.
New nominations
President Trump has not announced any new nominations since the previous report. The president has announced 60 Article III judicial nominations since taking office on Jan. 20, 2025. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.
New confirmations
As of Aug. 1, the Senate has confirmed 53 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—42 district court judges, 10 appeals court judges, and one Court of International Trade judge—since January 2025.
- 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
- Benjamin Flowers, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Michael Martin, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- Kara Westercamp, to the U.S. Court of International Trade
- Jeffrey T. Kuntz, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Matthew Schwartz, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Rob Jones, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Comparison of Article III judicial appointments over time by president (1981-Present)
- Presidents have made an average of 71 judicial appointments through Aug. 1 of their second year in office. President Barack Obama (D) had the most appointees confirmed with 106, and President George W. Bush (R) had the fewest confirmations with 51.
- President Bill Clinton made the most appointments through four years with 174. President George 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 George 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 Sept. 7 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.