The U.S. Senate confirmed Michael Newman to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio by a 67-30 vote on October 22, 2020. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.
After Newman receives his federal judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the eight-member court will have five Republican-appointed judges and three Democrat-appointed judges. Newman will join three other judges appointed by President Trump.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed 219 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 162 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
Newman was a federal magistrate judge for the Southern District of Ohio from 2011 to 2020. Before that, he worked in private practice and as a law clerk to the Southern District of Ohio’s Magistrate Judge Jack Sherman and to U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit Judge Nathaniel Jones. Newman earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from New York University in 1982, and his J.D., cum laude, from American University’s Washington College of Law in 1989.
On October 1, President Donald Trump (R) announced the nomination of Joseph Dawson to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, which is an Article III federal judicial position. Article III judges are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life.
Since assuming office in January 2017, Trump has nominated 271 individuals to federal judgeships, 218 of whom have been confirmed. The president nominated 69 judicial nominees in 2017, 92 in 2018, and 77 in 2019.
Since January 2017, the Senate has confirmed 218 of Trump’s judicial nominees—161 district court judges, 53 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices.
The U.S. Senate confirmed six nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The 94 U.S. District Courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. The Senate has confirmed 214 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 157 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
The confirmed nominees are:
Stephen McGlynn and David Dugan, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. When they assume office (after receiving their judicial commission and taking their judicial oath), the court will have:
• No vacancies.
• Two Democrat-appointed judges and two Republican-appointed judges.
Stanley Blumenfeld, Mark Scarsi, and John Holcomb, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. When they assume office, the court will have:
• Seven vacancies.
• Nine Democrat-appointed judges and 12 Republican-appointed judges.
Todd Robinson, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. After Robinson assumes office, the court will have:
• Four vacancies.
• Four Democrat-appointed judges and five Republican-appointed judges.
Blumenfeld, Scarsi, Holcomb, and Robinson are the first four District Court nominees to be confirmed to a California court since Trump took office.
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from August 3, 2020, to September 1, 2020. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Vacancies: There have been no new judicial vacancies since the July 2020 report. There are 72 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, 78 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: There have been five new nominations since the July 2020 report.
• Confirmations: There has been one new confirmation since the July 2020 report.
New vacancies
There were 72 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 8.3.
• The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
• None of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
• 70 (10.3%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
• Two (22.2%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.
A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, are appointed for life terms.
No judges left active status, 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 from the inauguration of President Donald Trump (R) to the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at Trump’s inauguration and as of September 1, 2020.
New nominations
President Donald Trump (R) has announced five new nominations since the July 2020 report.
• Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
• Benjamin Beaton, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
• Hector Gonzalez, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
• Ryan McAllister, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.
• David Woll, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
New confirmations
Since August 3, 2020, the United States Senate has confirmed one of President Trump’s nominees to an Article III seat.
• John Cronan, confirmed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
As of September 1, 2020, the Senate has confirmed 203 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—146 district court judges, 53 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices—since January 2017.
The U.S. Senate confirmed John Cronan to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by a vote of 55-42. The Southern District of New York is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts.
After Cronan receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have two vacancies, seven Republican-appointed judges, and 19 Democrat-appointed judges. Cronan will join three other judges appointed by President Trump.
Cronan earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1998 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2001. During his legal studies, he was the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law and Policy Review.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed 203 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 146 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from July 2, 2020, to August 3, 2020. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the June 2020 report. There are 73 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 United States territorial courts, 79 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: There have been no new nominations since the June 2020 report.
• Confirmations: There have been two new confirmations since the June 2020 report.
New vacancies
There were 73 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 8.4.
• The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
• None of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
• 71 (10.5%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
• Two (22.2%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.
A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the U.S. Constitution, are appointed for life terms.
Two judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, these 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.
1. Judge Virginia Covington assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
2. Judge Federico Moreno assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Donald Trump (R) to the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at Trump’s inauguration and as of August 1, 2020.
New nominations
Trump has not announced any new nominations since the June 2020 report. Since taking office in January 2017, Trump has nominated 262 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
Since July 2, 2020, the United States Senate has confirmed two of Trump’s nominees to Article III seats.
• David Joseph, confirmed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
• Scott Hardy, confirmed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
As of August 3, 2020, the Senate has confirmed 202 of Trump’s judicial nominees—145 district court judges, 53 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices—since January 2017.
Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 202 Article III federal judges through August 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. Tied with President Bill Clinton (D), this is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate had confirmed 247 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through August 1 of their fourth year in office is 188.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. Along with President Trump, Presidents Barack Obama (D), Bill Clinton (D), and George H.W. Bush (R) had each appointed two Supreme Court justices at this point in their first terms. Ronald Reagan (R) had appointed one, while Carter and George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any.
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 35. Carter appointed the most with 54, while Reagan appointed the least with 27. Trump’s 53 appointments make up 29.6% of the total 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 145. Carter appointed the most with 190, and Reagan appointed the fewest with 117. Trump has appointed 145 district court judges so far. Those appointments make up 21.4% of the 677 judgeships across the district courts.
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.
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from June 2, 2020, to July 1, 2020. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the May 2020 report. There are 73 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, 79 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: There have been two new nominations since the May 2020 report.
• Confirmations: There have been three new confirmations since the May 2020 report.
New vacancies
There were 73 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 8.4.
• The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
• None of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
• 71 (10.5%) of the 673 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
• Two (22.2%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.
A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms.
Two judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these 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.
1. Judge Justin Walker was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
2. Judge Brian Cogan assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
New nominations
President Donald Trump (R) has announced two new nominations since the May 2020 report.
1. James P. Arguelles, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
2. Taylor McNeel, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
Since taking office in January 2017, President Trump has nominated 262 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
Since June 2, 2020, the United States Senate has confirmed three of President Trump’s nominees to Article III seats.
1. Drew Tipton, confirmed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
2. Justin Walker, confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
3. Cory Wilson, confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
As of July 2, 2020, the Senate has confirmed 200 of President Trump’s judicial nominees—143 district court judges, 53 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and two Supreme Court justices—since January 2017.
Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 200 Article III federal judges through July 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate had confirmed 247 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through July 1 of their fourth year in office is 185.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. Along with President Trump, Presidents Barack Obama (D), Bill Clinton (D), and George H.W. Bush (R) had each appointed two Supreme Court justices at this point in their first terms. Ronald Reagan (R) had appointed one, while Carter and George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any.
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 35. Carter appointed the most with 54, while Reagan appointed the least with 27. Trump’s 53 appointments make up 30% of the total 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 143. Carter appointed the most with 190, and Reagan appointed the fewest with 117. Trump has appointed 143 district court judges so far. Those appointments make up 21% of the 677 judgeships across the district courts.
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.
The U.S. Senate has confirmed 200 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 53 appellate court judges, 143 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
On June 24, the Senate confirmed Cory Wilson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The 5th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal courts. After Wilson receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have no vacancies, 12 Republican-appointed judges, and five Democrat-appointed judges.
Wilson’s confirmation fills the only current U.S. Circuit Court vacancy. The last time this occurred was in July 1984, when Judge John Butzner’s seat on the 4th Circuit was vacant.
There are two upcoming Circuit Court vacancies. Andrew Brasher was already confirmed to succeed Judge Ed Carnes on the 11th Circuit. Carnes is expected to assume senior status on June 30. Justin Walker was confirmed to succeed Judge Thomas Griffith on the D.C. Circuit. Griffith is expected to retire on September 1.
