TagArticle III federal judges

Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

By Myj Saintyl
In Federal
March 27, 2023 at 2:26 PM

Through March 24, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 75 vacancies. Seventy-three of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.

  • Through March 24, 118 judges have been confirmed
  • Through March 24, 158 judges have been nominated.

By March 1, after 771 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 164 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison*: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 181 individuals, 142 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 129 individuals, 113 of which were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 183 individuals, 131 of which were confirmed.

*Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations and renominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:



Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

By Kate Carsella
In Federal
January 13, 2023 at 4:33 PM

Through Jan. 1, 2023, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 85 vacancies. Eighty-three of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.

  • In Dec. 2022, 10 judges were confirmed.
  • In Dec. 2022, the president announced his intent to nominate six individuals.

By Jan. 1, 2023, after 712 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had officially nominated 142 judges to Article III judgeships. Ninety-seven nominees had been confirmed. For historical comparison, and including unsuccessful nominations: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 176 individuals, 86 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 119 individuals, 71 of which were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 171 individuals, 100 of which were confirmed.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger status of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:



Twenty-seven upcoming Article III judicial vacancies

By Myj Saintyl
In Federal
January 5, 2023 at 11:42 PM

According to the latest vacancy data from the U.S. Courts, there were 27 total announced upcoming vacancies for Article III judgeships as of January 5, 2022. Article III judgeships refer to federal judges who serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, or one of the 13 U.S. courts of appeal or 94 U.S. district courts. These are lifetime appointments made by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

These positions are not yet vacant but will be at some point in the future with every judge having announced his or her intent to either leave the bench or assume senior status. In the meantime, these judges will continue to serve in their current positions.

The president and Senate do not need to wait for a position to become vacant before they can start the confirmation process for a successor. For example, Rachel Bloomekatz was nominated to replace Judge R. Guy Cole who retires on Jan. 9, 2023. There are currently 6 nominees pending for upcoming vacancies.

Eight vacancy effective dates have not been determined because the judge has not announced the date he or she will leave the bench. The next upcoming scheduled vacancy will take place on Jan. 9, 2023, when United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge R. Guy Cole assumes senior status.

In addition to these 27 upcoming vacancies, there are 84 current Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary out of the 870 total Article III judgeships. Including non-Article III judges from the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, there are 86 vacancies out of 890 active federal judicial positions.

President Biden has nominated 148 individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts. Ninety-seven of those nominees have been confirmed. Of the 46 nominees going through the confirmation process, 29 are awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate, 10 are awaiting a committee vote, and seven are awaiting a committee hearing.



Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

By Kate Carsella
In Federal
December 9, 2022 at 4:47 PM

Through Dec. 1, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 89 vacancies. Eighty-seven of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships.

  1. In November 2022, three judges were confirmed.
  2. In November 2022, no judges were nominated.

By Dec. 1, 2022, 681 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 142 judges to Article III judgeships. Eighty-seven nominees had been confirmed. For historical comparison*: 

  1. President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 176 individuals, 86 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  2. President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 111 individuals, 71 of whom were confirmed.
  3. President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 171 individuals, 100 of whom were confirmed.

*Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_vacancies_in_federal_courts

https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_judges_nominated_by_Joe_Biden

https://ballotpedia.org/The_Federal_Judicial_Vacancy_Count_12/1/2022



Tracker: Article III federal judicial nominations by president by days in office since 2001

By Kate Carsella
In Federal
September 12, 2022 at 7:21 PM

Through Sept. 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 81 vacancies. Seventy-nine 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:

  • Two judges have been confirmed
  • Two judges have been nominated

By Sept. 1, 590 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 132 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 162 individuals, 86 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 90 individuals, 65 of whom were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 163 individuals, 100 of whom were confirmed.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:



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

By Brittony Maag
In Federal
August 5, 2022 at 5:27 PM

Through August 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 77 vacancies. Seventy-five of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime terms.

  • In the past month, five judges have been confirmed
  • In the past month, 25 judges have been nominated*.

*Note: This figure includes nomination announcements in addition to nominations officially received in the Senate.

By August 1, 559 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 130 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison**: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 158 individuals, 86 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 90 individuals, 65 of which were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 163 individuals, 100 of which were confirmed.

**Note: The total nominations figures include unsuccessful nominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the overall status of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:

Judicial vacancies in federal courts

Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

The Federal Judicial Vacancy Count 8/1/2022



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

By Brittony Maag
In Federal
July 11, 2022 at 11:52 AM

Through July 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 77 vacancies. Seventy-five of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime terms.

  1. In the past month, three judges have been confirmed
  2. In the past month, nine judges have been nominated*.

*Note: This figure includes nomination announcements in addition to nominations officially received in the Senate.

By July 1, 528 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 105 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison**: 

  1. President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 153 individuals, 85 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  2. President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 80 individuals, 64 of whom were confirmed.
  3. President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 147 individuals, 89 of whom were confirmed.

**Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the overall status of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:

Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

Judicial vacancies in federal courts

Current federal judicial vacancies



Biden appointed second-most federal judges through July 1 of a president’s second year

By Brittony Maag
In Federal
July 6, 2022 at 5:35 PM

President Joe Biden (D) has appointed and the U.S. Senate has confirmed 69 Article III federal judges through July 1 of Biden’s second year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since 1981. President Bill Clinton (D) appointed the most judges by this point in his presidency with 72. The Senate had confirmed 42 of President Donald Trump’s (R) appointees at this point in his term.

The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through July 1 of their second year in office is 56.

  • The median number of Supreme Court appointees is one. Five presidents (Reagan, Clinton, Obama, Trump, and Biden) made one appointment. Two presidents (H.W. Bush and W. Bush) had not appointed any.
  • The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 14. Trump had the most appointees with 21, followed by Biden with 16. Obama appointed the fewest with nine.
  • The median number of United States District Court appointees is 48. Clinton had the most appointees with 60, followed by Biden with 52. Trump appointed the fewest with 20.

Article III federal judges are appointed for life terms by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate per Article III of the United States Constitution. Article III judges include judges on the: Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. courts of appeal, U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.

Additional reading:



Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for June 2022

By Brittony Maag
In Federal
July 6, 2022 at 4:16 PM

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.

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.

New confirmations

The U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees since the previous report.

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.

Additional reading:



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

By Ballotpedia staff
In Federal
June 7, 2022 at 4:40 PM

Through June 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 77 vacancies. Seventy-five of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime terms.

  • In the past month, six judges have been confirmed
  • In the past month, eight judges have been nominated*

*Note: This figure includes nomination announcements in addition to nominations officially received in the Senate.

By June 1, after 498 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 96 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison: 

  • President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 141 individuals, 84 of which were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
  • President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 76 individuals, 64 of which were confirmed.
  • President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 143 individuals, 86 of which were confirmed.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the overall status of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading: