Author: Brittony Maag

  • Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for January 2022

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    In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of January through Feb. 1, 2022. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month. HIGHLIGHTS Vacancies: There have been five new judicial vacancies since the December 2021 report. There are…

  • Biden has appointed most federal judges through Feb. 1 of a president’s second year

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    President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 45 Article III federal judges through Feb. 1 of his second year in office. This is the most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since 1981. The Senate had confirmed 24 of President Donald Trump’s (R) appointees at this point…

  • SCOTUS releases March argument calendar

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Jan. 28 released its March argument calendar for the 2021-2022 term, scheduling nine cases for argument. Two of the cases were consolidated for one hour of oral argument. In total, the court will hear eight hours of arguments between Mar. 21 and Mar. 30.  Click the…

  • SCOTUS accepts first cases for its 2022-2023 term

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) accepted three cases for argument during its October 2022-2023 term on Jan. 24. These are the first cases SCOTUS has granted for its next term scheduled to begin on Oct. 3. Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard (Consolidated with Students for Fair…

  • President Biden nominates eight to Article III courts

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    President Joe Biden (D) nominated eight individuals to Article III judgeships with lifetime terms on Jan. 19: Arianna Freeman, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Tiffany Cartwright, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Ana de Alba, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of…

  • SCOTUS concludes January sitting with arguments in four cases

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is hearing oral arguments in four cases during the week of Jan. 18, the second and final week of its January argument sitting for the 2021-2022 term. The court is hearing arguments in person, though the court remains closed to the public in accordance with its policies…

  • Tennessee Gov. Lee nominates supreme court justice

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    Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) selected Sarah K. Campbell as his nominee to fill the vacant seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court. Lee’s announcement came on Jan. 12 after consideration of the three finalists put forward by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments: Campbell and Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges Kristi Davis and William Neal…

  • SCOTUS accepts three cases for argument on Jan. 10

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    Image of the front of the United States Supreme Court building

    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) accepted three additional cases for argument during its 2021-2022 term on Jan. 10: United States v. Washington Kemp v. United States Siegel v. Fitzgerald United States v. Washington concerns state workers’ compensation laws and intergovernmental immunity. The question presented to the court in Washington is: “Whether a…

  • Monthly tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

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    Through Jan. 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 76 vacancies. Seventy-four of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships. In the past month, 12 judges have been confirmed In the past month, 11 judges have been nominated*.…

  • SCOTUS to hear arguments in COVID vaccine-related emergency appeals on Jan. 7

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    The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) scheduled oral arguments in and deferred decisions on emergency appeals related to two of the Biden administration’s COVID vaccination policies. This is a departure from the court’s typical procedure for resolving emergency appeals—known colloquially as the court’s shadow docket—where the court issues an order without hearing oral…